China’s vast beauty market is growing fast, and is projected to grow at a faster rate than the overall economy. The female population aged between 15 and 64 in China currently exceeds 420 million, which is larger than the combined total of Europe, the US and Japan, making China’s beauty market rank eighth in the world. This huge population combined with rising income levels makes it easy to guess that China is becoming the world’s largest beauty market.

However, there are a couple of things to be considered when dealing with such a market: legal impediments, exotic business practices, unusual consumption habits and logistic tricks. Cosmetic products consumption varies from one region and another, with some unique local characteristics. Studies have shown that consumption is higher in the south than in the north, much higher on the east coast than in the western regions, and higher in cities than in the countryside.

China’s large market of hair care products is generally recognised to be approaching saturation, as many consumers have developed the purchase pattern of switching between several known brands, making it difficult for new brands to enter the market. While the market of skin care products is actually more receptive towards new brands, confronting domestic brands with foreign ones. According to surveys conducted by International Market Insight (IMI), “well known brand“, “right price” and “product feature” are the major considerations of consumers when buying skin care products. Skin care products cover products with special functions such as whitening, freckle removing, anti-wrinkle and moisturising.

The make-up market is expected to further increase thanks to the growing number of female workers in the business and other service sectors. Meanwhile, the moderate perfume market is rather small in scale and slowly growing because only a very limited number of mainland consumers use perfume, with most of them being light users.
Statistics about China’s beauty market.

According to the country’s first annual report on the beauty sector, recently released by four young Chinese economists He Fan, Ba Shusong, Zhong Wei and Zhao Xiao: Within 21 years, from 1983 to 2004, the sales volume of China’s beauty businesses has increased 260 times. With a 15 per cent annual growth, the beauty sector is turning into another huge money-maker after the boom in the real estate, auto, electronics and tourism sectors.

China is currently home to 1.54 million beauty parlors and nearly 3,800 cosmetic companies, and almost 8 million people are actually working in beauty-related businesses, plus another 4 million whose jobs are connected to the sector (2005 est.) A survey of five major cities in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Wuhan, shows that the most popular beauty items include SPAs, stone massages, Yoga, foot massages and nail treatments.