Chinese medicine-related beauty fads have taken beauty routines by storm. China’s at-home beauty device market is booming. In China, Chinese medicine fads such as jade rollers and gua sha have become big business. The hype surrounding these ubiquitous “old-school” tools has yet to materialize on their home turf. But in China, where beauty devices are concerned, higher tech is better — or at least trendier. In the same year, Alibaba-owned Tmall Global’s imported beauty device division enjoyed 700 percent growth, according to Jing Daily and CBO.
Foreo is one of the leading beauty tech companies in China. The beauty tech arms race is a battleground for big-spending millennials. Other frontrunners include NuFace’s microcurrent facial toning devices, Iluminage’s radio, LED and infrared anti-ageing tech, L’Oréal-owned Clarisonic’s cleansing brushes, Japanese Ya-Man”s radio frequency multi-purpose tool, and ReFa’s micro-current beauty rollers. With the number of global players that are crowding the beauty device market, brand loyalty is at an all-time low.
NuFace entered China in 2016 with its line of microcurrent skin toning tools, which have been clinically tested to contour, lift, and reduce wrinkles. The country is now the California-based company’s biggest Asian market. “We’ve had high triple digit growth every single year since, year-over-year,” NuFace’S chief executive Tera Peterson tells BoF. The at-home device category goes beyond facial tools, and high-tech hair and body offerings are also in the running to win the hearts of Chinese beautyphiles.
NuFace entered China in 2016 with its line of microcurrent skin toning tools, which have been clinically tested to contour, lift, and reduce wrinkles. The country is now the California-based company’s biggest Asian market. “We’ve had high triple digit growth every single year since, year-over-year,” NuFace’S chief executive Tera Peterson tells BoF. The at-home device category goes beyond facial tools, and high-tech hair and body offerings are also in the running to win the hearts of Chinese beautyphiles.
NuFace and Foreo are among the brands targeting the Chinese beauty market. Black tech is the newest buzzword to enter China’s beauty lexicon. 80 percent of black tech beauty device consumers are under 35 years old, and 30 percent are under 25. China is our only market globally to have its own dedicated research lab just for local consumer insights, says NuFace’s Hoxha. But with such high stakes, brands should take heed of discerning consumers they’ll be catering for.
Dyson’s $550 Airwrap styler launched in fall 2018 to a buzzy Chinese reception. The launch’s virality backfired when netizens suspected the feature was sponsored. Dyson later clarified that the post wasn’t paid for, but the backlash put a damper on its product launch nonetheless. “You can lose consumers as fast as you get them, even faster, if you make a mistake, or release a product that doesn’t match up,” says Hoxha.
Foreo’s strategy in China involves 62 physical stores. Foreo only has two standalone stores outside China, in Paris and Las Vegas. According to CIBE, China’s domestic demand for beauty appliances has grown by an average annual rate of 11.1 percent in the past five years. Lin: “You need to design the whole experience. How do they take it out of the packaging? Does it fit in a gym bag? Do it look good in their bathroom, and is it difficult to put away?”.
Beautytech5 Why High-Tech Beauty Is a High-Stakes Game