L’Oréal study reveals pigmentation disorders affect quality of life for Japanese women
L’Oréal Research & Innovation and Data Mining International have published a study confirming that skin pigmentation disorders negatively influence the quality of life for Japanese women. Using Data Mining International’s patented BeautyQoL instrument, the...
China to end animal testing? UK scientists lend expertise in animal welfare and alternative testing methods
The UK has been training Chinese scientists in product testing techniques in a bid to end the use of animal testing for cosmetics, according to a report published in The Guardian. The program’s ultimate aim is to persuade the Chinese authorities to ban all animal...
Sephora outrages Australian consumers by blocking access to US online store
LVMH-owned beauty retailer Sephora this week enraged Australian consumers ahead of the launch of its local bricks and mortar store in Sydney by redirecting customers away from the US site, which is said to stop people making price comparisons. Following the move,...
Unilever Australia restructures marketing team
The Australian arm of personal care giant Unilever has announced the restructure of its top marketers Andrea Martens and Hugo Verkuil who will exit their current roles and see both roles merge together to create one Chief Marketing Officer position. It has yet to be...
Q3 earnings soar 34.9 percent at K-beauty favorite AmorePacific
AmorePacific has announced an impressive 34.9 percent rise in net earnings to KRW142.24 billion for 3Q 2015. The leading K-beauty brand attributed its growth to a strong performance in China, which more than offset sluggish duty free sales caused by the MERS outbreak....
Matsumotokiyoshi to open first overseas store in Thailand
Japanese drugstore chain Matsumotokiyoshi has opened its first overseas store in Thailand and is planning a second by the end of the year, according to a report published in the Bangkok Post. The Bangkok store is the result of the company’s joint venture with Central...
AmorePacific promotes K-beauty tourism with second innovation center
AmorePacific has cut the ribbon on its second Jeju Creative Economy Innovation Center. The company invested more than KRW100 billion to establish its second facility, which is intended to foster research, support start-ups in Jeju and promote tourism to the island....
Cosmetic formulators search for multifunctional natural whitening ingredients to boost product development
As whitening products continue to gain momentum, product developers are seeking natural whitening ingredients that are multifunctional and not only have clinically-proven results but can reduce the total raw materials in the final formulation, in turn reducing costs....
KOSÉ Corporation launches Spawake skincare brand into Indian cosmetics market
Japanese-based beauty company KOSÉ Corporation is targeting the Indian cosmetics market with the launch of the new Spawake skin care range. The brand is set to launch into 200 stores over the coming months and is said to target city-based women that are prone to daily...
Estée Lauder Companies buys stake in Korean skin care brand Dr Jart+
The Estée Lauder Companies has announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase an interest in Have & Be Co, the company behind K-beauty skin care brand Dr Jart+ and male grooming range Do The Right Things, for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to...
Givaudan makes biggest investment in India in 17 years; piles Rs368 crore into new Pune plant
Givaudan has laid the foundations for a new CHF55 million manufacturing plant in Ranjangaon near Pune. The facility is expected to go live in early 2018, will create 100 jobs and is the company’s largest investment in India since 1998. The new plant will boost the...
Kao’s shares jump as it reports 5.5 percent rise in sales for 3Q 2015
Kao Corporation saw its stock climb 0.8 percent to ¥5,868 following the announcement of its third-quarter results for the nine months ending September 30. Net sales rose 5.5 percent versus the same period in 2014, reaching ¥1.06 trillion. Net income for the period...
Amway invests US$13 million in botanical research center to study Chinese medicine
Amway has cut the ribbon on a US$13 million R&D facility in Wuxi, China, named The Amway Botanical Research Center (ABRC). The direct sales giant will use its new site to study plants associated with traditional Chinese medicine for potential future use in its...
Will Japan end animal testing? Cruelty-free lobby piles on pressure
The cruelty-free lobby is out in force to convince Japan’s parliament to ban the sale of cosmetic products that have been tested on animals in the country with the international business community, as well as a local grass-roots campaign led by the Humane Society...
Hindustan Unilever receives Company of the Year award at ET Awards 2015
Consumer good’s company Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has won the Company of the Year award at the ET Awards 2015, seeing off the likes of Lupin and Axis Bank. The company was chosen due to its size, consistent track record, strong governance processes and ability to...
Alibaba to open European offices
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has unveiled plans to open offices in France and Germany before the year-end, as part of a strategy to expand its business in Europe, Asia and the Americas, according to a report published in the Dispatch Times. Speaking at a press...
Weak yen forces brand cull at Shiseido
By increasing raw material prices and squeezing margins, the weak yen is forcing Japanese companies to be more efficient, according to a report published by Investment Week. Author Michael Lindsell, Portfolio Manager for the Lindsell Train Japanese Equity fund, argues...
Kimberly-Clark signs ‘haze-free’ declaration to quell consumer protests in south-east Asia
Kimberley-Clark has become one of the first companies to issue a ‘haze-free’ declaration, proclaiming that its paper and wood-based products are sourced sustainably in the face of growing protests over the air pollution caused by forest fires in Indonesia. Thanks to...
Hermo raises US$2 million to expand throughout Asia
Online beauty marketplace Hermo has raised US$2 million in series A funding from venture capital firm Gobi Partners to expand into new markets, including Singapore and Indonesia. The Malaysian start-up was founded in 2012 and now lists more than 3,000 products from...
Coco Rocha announced as Global Model of LG Household and Healthcare’s VDL make up
Global fashion and beauty model Coco Rocha has been selected as the face of LG Household & Healthcare young prestige make up brand VDL. The model is a wise selection in order to raise awareness of the brand. As it stands, the model currently has 16 million...
Made-in-Thailand products attract Vietnamese consumers
Thailand earned 250 billion THB (nearly $7 billion) from the cosmetics industry in 2014, with made-in-Thailand becoming increasingly popular with Vietnamese consumers, notably young users of the products. Indeed, according to Thai Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City...
Shiseido refocuses as part of Vision 2020 strategy
In a bid to push the company forward, Shiseido is putting on a refreshing take on its marketing and is “renovating its communication and to further expand touch points with its consumers,” said the company. As part of its Vision 2020 strategy, the company has put a...
Kao cosmetics targets Chinese consumers with cross border e-commerce site
Japanese cosmetics company Kao is set to launch a cross border E-commerce site on Tmall Global for Chinese consumers, in an agreement with Alibaba Group. The cross border store will open in November. The store opening follows news previously reported by Global...
Growth grinds to a halt at P&G India
Procter & Gamble’s Indian operations have reported their slowest growth rate for more than a decade, as demand for shampoos waned and growth in the company’s skin care portfolio was lackluster, according to a report published by the Economic Times of India. The...
Did a child suffer for your eyeshadow? Child labor accusations resurface as children found mining mica
The Times of India has revived accusations that the mica used by global brands to add glitter to make-up products including powders, mascara and lipsticks, is being mined by children. According to the paper, German health care company Merck was accused of supplying...
GigaMedia pulls out of Strawberry Cosmetics acquisition; pays US$2 million ‘consideration’
Online games and computer provider GigaMedia has entered into a mutual termination agreement with the shareholders of global e-commerce provider Strawberry Cosmetics, ending a share purchase agreement under which GigaMedia was due to acquire a 70 percent equity...
French Bioderma plans R&D centre and manufacturing base in India to push market share to 15 percent
French skin care brand Bioderma is said to be looking for partners to set up an R&D centre in India. Once volume reaches critical mass, the company would also look to establish a manufacturing base in the country, according to a report published on mydigitalfc.com...
L’Oréal to step up export and R&D from Indian hub
L’Oréal is said to be gearing up to increase exports from its Indian facilities to the region it terms 'South Asia-Pacific'. which includes Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. In an interview with the...
BASF to up wax and emollient capacity with new China facility
Specialty chemical supplier BASF has announced that it will expand its emollients and waxes production capacity with a new plant at its site in Jinshan, Shanghai. The investment will complement the company’s current production of wax esters, emulsifiers and primary...
Givaudan opens global perfumery school and production hub in Singapore
Fragrance and flavour company Givaudan has expanded its production with the opening of the new $100 million production hub and global perfumery school, based in Singapore. The new site is the company’s largest investment to date for the fragrance arm of Givaudan and...
Cocowell Corp reports sales growth thanks to coconut oil
The popularity of cosmetic products containing coconut oil, which is traditionally made and imported from the Philippines, has led to a boost in sales for Cocowell Corp. The Osaka-based company not only supports local communities in the Philppines, it also uses part...
Online cosmetic retailer Nykaa raises $9.5 million in Series B funding
Nykaa has found various companies to invest in its Series B funding. And while the details of the investment have not been shared, it is said that the online cosmetic and wellness retailer has sold around 20 per cent of stake. Investors include family offices of...
Nature Republic chief arrested over illegal gambling claims
An arrest warrant has been issued for Jeong Un-ho, chief of cosmetics company Nature Republic, following allegations of his involvement in a multi-million dollar illegal gambling situation in illegal pool rooms across Asia. According to the prosecution Un-ho was...
Personal care market highest offender of banned adverts in India
Personal care companies in India received the highest amount of complaints regarding their adverts, according to the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) under the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). Out of 86 banned adverts overall, the CCC found 26 personal...
Thailand’s and Vietnam’s cosmetics industries must cooperate ahead of AEC formation
The President of the Thai Cosmetic Manufacturers Association, Ketmanee Lertkitcha, has called for greater cooperation between Thailand’s and Vietnam’s cosmetic industries ahead of the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) later this year. Speaking at a...
Lauder President: The future is bright for ELC in China
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Angie Lau, Fabrice Weber, President, Asia Pacific of Estée Lauder Companies, claimed that, despite the slowing Chinese economy, the company remains positive about its performance in China and that, thanks to the company’s...
Lauder President: The future is bright for ELC in China
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Angie Lau, Fabrice Weber, President, Asia Pacific of Estée Lauder Companies, claimed that, despite the slowing Chinese economy, the company remains positive about its performance in China and that, thanks to the company’s...
Chinese tourists gain as Alipay expands into Japan and Singapore
Chinese tourists have provided a much needed boost to other Asia-Pacific cosmetics markets in the last quarter, and the arrival of Alipay, the payment arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, will make shopping in Japan and Singapore even easier. Ant Financial, the...
L’Oréal Research presents pioneer sol-gels work at Kyoto conference
A L’Oréal Research team was invited to present its pioneer work and recent findings at the XVIII edition of the International Sol-Gel Conference held in Kyoto on September 6-11, 2015. The team discovered that sol-gels technology is an innovative answer to treating...
Is print dead? Shiseido to convert trends magazine to digital only in 2016
Shiseido is set to discontinue the print version of its B2B magazines, Hanatsubaki, in favour of a digital format next year. The December 2015 issue will be the last paper edition. First issued in 1937, the monthly free magazine has reported on cosmetics trends,...
L’Oréal Research presents pioneer sol-gels work at Kyoto conference
A L’Oréal Research team was invited to present its pioneer work and recent findings at the XVIII edition of the International Sol-Gel Conference held in Kyoto on September 6-11, 2015. The team discovered that sol-gels technology is an innovative answer to treating...
Is print dead? Shiseido to convert trends magazine to digital only in 2016
Shiseido is set to discontinue the print version of its B2B magazines, Hanatsubaki, in favour of a digital format next year. The December 2015 issue will be the last paper edition. First issued in 1937, the monthly free magazine has reported on cosmetics trends,...
Personal care companies hope to capitalize on premium market with herbal products
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has announced the launch of a new selection of personal care products with the ayurveda tag, as more and more companies focus on herbal products in a bid to break into the premium market. Whether pitched as herbal, natural or ayurvedic, the...
L’Oreal India certified by Swiss-based company for gender equality in the workplace
With India said to have the world’s lowest records of gender balance in the workplace, L’Oreal India has taken steps to prove its commitment to changing this and has now been certified by Geneva-based EDGE Certified Foundation. Following a nine-month process, the...
Unilever Pakistan reshuffles leadership with the appointment of new Managing Director
Effective October 31, 2015, Ehsan Malik will retire as Chief Executive Officer after 24 years of service and will be replaced by Shazia Syed, Unilever Sri Lanka Chairperson. Syed has been with the company for 26 years and has worked across most categories within the...
Personal care companies hope to capitalize on premium market with herbal products
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has announced the launch of a new selection of personal care products with the ayurveda tag, as more and more companies focus on herbal products in a bid to break into the premium market. Whether pitched as herbal, natural or ayurvedic, the...
L’Oreal India certified by Swiss-based company for gender equality in the workplace
With India said to have the world’s lowest records of gender balance in the workplace, L’Oreal India has taken steps to prove its commitment to changing this and has now been certified by Geneva-based EDGE Certified Foundation. Following a nine-month process, the...
Unilever Pakistan reshuffles leadership with the appointment of new Managing Director
Effective October 31, 2015, Ehsan Malik will retire as Chief Executive Officer after 24 years of service and will be replaced by Shazia Syed, Unilever Sri Lanka Chairperson. Syed has been with the company for 26 years and has worked across most categories within the...
New hygiene indicator needed in UN’s Sustainable Development plan, says Unilever
In a bid to reduce the risk of child mortality, Unilever’s CEO Paul Polman, speaking on behalf of the company’s Lifebuoy soap brand, has called for a hygiene indicator as part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Focussing on the crucial role hygiene...
New Singapore-based Global Travel Retail team for Shiseido
Beauty giant Shiseido has created a new Global Travel Retail marketing team in a bid to reflect the priority role of travel retail in the global expansion of its brands. Based in Singapore, the new team is said to be aligned with the Group Vision 2020 and is headed...
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