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The cosmetics sector in China has been increasing rapidly, the sales of cosmetics product was RMB110.3 billion in 2011 and reached RMB222.2 billion in 2016. The male beauty market is one of the booming sectors of the increasing cosmetics market. Men in China are more confident and willing to purchase and use beauty products, including both skin care and cosmetic products.

There are some online shops on Taobao(淘宝) and Daigo(代购) for male products.

The latest report released in June 2018 by Vipshop.com(唯品会) and JD.com(京东) showed that Chinese skincare market has reached ten-billion-RMB. It is estimated that the total value in male skincare will reach RMB15.4 billion. The data collected on Vipshop.com found that 96% of males purchased cosmetics. Moreover, the sales volume of skincare product purchased by men almost doubles every year. In male cosmetics era, facial masks ranked first. BB creams, lips and eyebrow pencil also became the primary choice for most men.

As the graph shows, the male skincare market size in China expanded at a fast peace and experienced substantial increase. It can be found that the market experienced explosive stage and now would enter into maturity stage. At present, men’s products are divided according to sales scale. The first group is L’Oreal(欧莱雅), Nivea(妮维雅) and Mentholatum(曼秀雷敦), with a scale of more than 500 million. The second group army includes: Goff(高夫), Biotherm(碧欧泉), Garnier (卡尼尔) and Olay Men(欧莱雅男士).

As the champion of sales in overall cosmetics industry, L’Oreal stated that the increasing male sales in China consolidates and contributes to the status of L’Oreal.

The constantly increasing market size can be attributed to growing purchasing power in China, shifting traditional mind in new generation in China, the development of social media, a wider variety of products and the improvement of the way of shopping.

The shifted attitudes towards cosmetics in Chinese male

Nowadays, the main consumer force is the younger group who has the new thoughts, so the traditional opinions is updated and some traditional consumption boundaries are gradually disappearing. In VIP.com’s report, from 2015 to 2017, the sales volume of men’s beauty purchases by the 95s increased year by year, from 16.7% of the 2016 men’s beauty purchase rate in 2016 to 42.9% in 2017.

Baidu Index (百度指数) trend line for the keyword male skincare (男士护肤) between January 2011 and April 2018

According to Baidu index, the trend of male skincare is increasing, which means male pay more to their beauty in China.

Baidu Index (百度指数) trend line for the keyword male cosmetics (男士美容) between January 2011 and April 2018

Skincare is the fundamental products in male beauty sector, and cosmetics products for male can be evolved products. It is shown that the searching average increased dramatically from 2015. The traditional concept is shifted to the new one that male can make up so that more male are conscious about cosmetics.

Social media boosts male cosmetics

At present, there are many men’s makeup tutorials on Weibo, Tiktok, Yingke and other platforms. Moreover, “boyfriend makeup” has also become a new video category that a man with a plain appearance did some makeup to have the star face. In fact, as early as 2015, a male student named Zeng Xuening from Zhejiang Communication University began to make a video of male makeup in the simple environment of the dormitory. The number of Weibo fans has now up to 1.82 million; the number of visits per day to Weibo is over one million. The video he posted on Weibo is to teach the audience how to make a makeup that suits them.

On the Zhihu live, a male makeup artist launched the 20-minute “Getting Started with Boys” course. The price is RMB19, and 5678 people are involved. Moreover, the anchor in this live-streaming launched premium makeup videos and other types video about male beauty that attracts average 2,000 audiences to watch.

From the 1109 evaluations, it can be inferred that most audience are male and most male already knew some basic knowledge about makeup. The main purpose for these audiences is to learn makeup skills. A few people just watch it for fun.

Some famous e-sports stars spoke for the brand on Weibo, stating that they want to use the products to improve their appearance.

Celebrities as the spokespersons brands also play an important role in motivating the market potential. They not only play the role in advertisements but also make comments or recommendations on social media. The social media can easily influence consumers, so the spread will be faster and wider.

More products and more shopping ways

There are more male cosmetics products in the market because more brands launch male products. These brands can investigate and estimate the market size. As the statistics found in Taobao, the growth rate of male consumption is 30%, which is 3 times of female’s.

Although men’s skin care products still focus on cleansing, the trend of diversified products suiting to different appeals is gradually taking shape. For the majority of Chinese men who have just awakened their skin care awareness, skin care awareness is no longer at the stage of “washing their faces clean”. Chinese men’s awareness of cosmetics is constantly developing and improving, and the awareness of “facial care” is increasing. Therefore, the diversification of products is an important factor in the development of the men’s product market.

E-commerce channels have blown out and online shopping has become a new trend. Online and offline model increased sales. According to information released by L’Oreal, 16 brands are stationed in T-mall, and online sales in some business units account for more than 20%. Male may have more confidence in shopping online because they might feel freer and can choose what they want carefully.

Conclusion

Men’s cosmetics products have already appeared in the Chinese market as early as 2008. They have rapidly warmed up and experienced rapid development between 2008 and 2013. Since 2013, men’s cosmetics products are still in the growth stage of high-speed expansion and began to develop in a more mature and rational way. The Chinese men’s beauty market is still far from saturated. Although the double-digit growth has been guaranteed in the past few years, there will be a real outbreak in the future.

Daxue Consulting has thoroughly researched China’s cosmetics industry

Especially since the opening of the male beauty market, the cosmetics market in China is rapidly growing. Daxue Consutling’s qualified team of researchers is familiar with the rules and regulations behind China’s cosmetics industry, and is ready to assist your company break into the expanding market.

Contact one of our project managers who has worked on the cosmetics market in China by dropping an email to dx@daxueconsulting.com.