In the first half of 2024, the cosmetics industry showed a booming development trend, especially in the performance of special cosmetics registration data, both domestic and imported products showed significant growth. With the diversification of consumer demand and the pursuit of personalized skin care and beauty products, major brands have adjusted their production strategies and launched more products that meet market demand.
This article will deeply analyze the characteristics and differences of domestic and imported special cosmetics in production mode, distribution of registrants and product categories, and deeply analyze the market trends of special cosmetics in the first half of 2024 to provide reference for practitioners.
Comparison in terms of total registrations and production models
In the first half of 2024, the number of domestic special cosmetics registrations reached more than 4,200, a year-on-year increase of 59%; the number of imported special cosmetics registrations reached more than 480, a year-on-year increase of 21%.
There are obvious differences in production modes between domestic and imported brands. Domestic special cosmetics are mainly produced by brands themselves, with the registered volume accounting for 61% of the total; the remaining 39% are produced domestically on commission.
Imported special cosmetics are mainly produced on commission by OEM/ODM, with nearly 70% of them produced overseas on commission in the first half of 2024. This difference reflects the emphasis of domestic brands on quality and the reliance of imported brands on global production resources.
Registrant distribution
From the perspective of registrants, more than 940 registrants completed registration for domestic special cosmetics in the first half of 2024. Among them, the top ten registered cosmetics were all hair dye cosmetics, and only two companies registered a small number of perm cosmetics.
Domestic special cosmetics are mainly concentrated in 14 prefecture-level cities and county-level cities in Guangdong Province, accounting for 78% of the total registrations, among which Guangzhou ranks first with more than 2,200 registrations, accounting for 53% of the total.
In addition, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Wenzhou in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai are also important registration centers. These regions are not only economically developed, but also have a relatively complete cosmetics industry chain, rich resources and technological advantages, and a good cosmetics production environment.
In contrast, more than 120 registrants have completed the registration of imported special cosmetics, and most of the top ten registrations are sunscreen and freckle whitening cosmetics. Hair dye cosmetics from Henkel Japan Co., Ltd. and L'Oreal (China) Co., Ltd. also account for a certain proportion.
Imported cosmetics mainly originate from 13 countries and regions, of which 33% come from Japan and 28% come from Korea.
These data show that Japan and Korea, as major cosmetics producers in Asia, still have high competitiveness in the Chinese market. In the future, as multinational companies further expand in the Chinese market, this trend may become more obvious.
Product categories analysis
Domestic special cosmetics are mainly hair dyes, accounting for 38% of the total; imported special cosmetics are mainly sunscreens, accounting for 41.5% of the total.
Anti-hair loss cosmetics are the category with the least registrations, with 117 domestic anti-hair loss cosmetics and only 2 imported anti-hair loss cosmetics.
Anti-freckle and whitening cosmetics
When it comes to freckle-removing and whitening cosmetics (except those with only physical concealing effect), there are more than 1,090 domestic whitening cosmetics in total, using 17 whitening agents, among which niacinamide is the most commonly used, with a usage rate of 92%.
From the perspective of whitening ingredients, most single products use 1 to 3 whitening agents, and the most use 7 whitening agents. Water-based and other skin-friendly cosmetics account for 31% of the total, followed by creams with thicker textures, accounting for 30% of the total. This diverse selection of whitening ingredients and dosage forms shows the efforts and innovations of domestic brands in meeting the needs of different consumers.
In addition, there are more than 150 imported whitening cosmetics, using 13 whitening agents, and the usage rate of niacinamide is 64%. The usage rate of other whitening agents is relatively low. Except for ascorbyl glucoside, the usage rate of other whitening agents is less than 10%.
In general, imported whitening cosmetics are more cautious in the selection of whitening ingredients, with 83% of the products using only one whitening agent, and the maximum using four whitening agents. This caution may be related to the strict control of imported brands over product safety and efficacy, and also reflects the high requirements of the international market for ingredient transparency and scientific verification.
Sunscreen cosmetics
There are more than 670 domestic sunscreen cosmetics, including about 30 children's sunscreens, using a total of 18 sunscreen ingredients, the most commonly used being ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, with a usage rate of 74%. A single product uses up to 10 sunscreen agents.
This diverse combination of sunscreens shows the efforts of domestic brands in providing comprehensive protection, and also reflects consumers' demand for efficient sunscreen products.
There are more than 250 imported sunscreen cosmetics in total, 84% of which use physical sunscreen agents, and a total of 17 types of sunscreen agents are used.
The use of sunscreen ingredients in imported products is similar to that of domestic products, but they are more restrained in the quantity of ingredients used. 44% only use 1 sunscreen agent, and up to 4 sunscreen agents are used. 44% only use one sunscreen, and the maximum number of sunscreens is 4.
76% of domestic sunscreen cosmetics are SPF50+, ranking first in the total; SPF50+ also dominates among imported sunscreen cosmetics, accounting for 45% of the total, followed by sunscreen cosmetics below SPF30, accounting for 44%.
In addition, PA+++ ranks first in domestic sunscreen cosmetics, accounting for 64% of the total; imported cosmetics are more balanced, with PA+++ accounting for 38% of the total and PA++ accounting for 27%. This difference reflects that domestic brands pursue higher protection levels in terms of sunscreen effects, while imported brands pay more attention to the comprehensiveness and balance of sunscreen products.
It is worth mentioning that among the use of physical sunscreens, the use rate of nano-level sunscreens in imported sunscreen cosmetics is relatively high. The use rate of imported zinc oxide (nano-level) accounts for 55% of the total use of zinc oxide; similarly, titanium dioxide (nano-level) accounts for 45% of the total use.
In the cosmetics industry, cosmetics compliance data not only reflects the market’s growth potential, but also reveals the direction of consumer demand and technological development. In the future, as market demand continues to change, the special cosmetics market will usher in more new opportunities.
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