The Rise of C-Beauty Brands in Southeast Asia

The rise of C-beauty brands has fundamentally reshaped China’s competitive landscape in beauty. After years of rapid evolution, the market leaders have now solidified their positions, making it increasingly difficult for new entrants to gain traction in a saturated environment.

In contrast, emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East offer stronger growth prospects.

Southeast Asia stands out as a key destination for C-beauty brands expanding globally, supported by geographic proximity and similar digital-driven consumer behaviours

^{Source: Euromonitor International}

Chinese beauty brands are rapidly capturing market share in Southeast Asia

Chinese beauty companies are actively expanding into the region through two primary approaches. The first strategy involves extending established brands in China into overseas markets. Brands such as Colorkey, Judydoll and Perfect Diary leverage existing consumer bases by building brand awareness through social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Xiaohongshu. Once demand in Southeast Asia surfaces organically, these brands begin exporting products, effectively scaling abroad.

The second strategy is to create entirely new, market-specific brands tailored to Southeast Asian consumers. These brands often avoid overt associations with China and instead emphasise affordability, collaborate with local influencers, and adopt local relevant positioning. Some companies have even established production facilities within Southeast Asia to enhance cost competitiveness and accelerate product development cycles. Examples of this approach include Skintific, O.TWO.O, SACELADY and Focallure.

Chinese beauty brands are rapidly capturing market share in Southeast Asia, especially in mass colour cosmetics. For example, in the largest beauty market in the region, Indonesia, in the mass colour cosmetics category, the seven leading brands from China secured a market share of over 15% in 2024, up from 2% in 2019. These seven brands are Focallure, Pinkflash, Barenbliss, O.TWO.O, Y.O.U Beauty, Skintific and Dazzle Me.

Why does the “China experience” work in Southeast Asia’s beauty market?

As Chinese companies expand into Southeast Asia, they bring well-established digital marketing strategies honed through domestic success. By tailoring these approaches to local preferences, they are gaining significant traction – a trend reinforced by structural parallels between the digital commerce landscapes of China and Southeast Asia.

E-commerce and social media platforms in Southeast Asia, such as Lazada, Shopee and TikTok, share strong operational and functional similarities with their Chinese counterparts, including Tmall, Taobao, JD and Douyin. Having already mastered these ecosystems in China, Chinese brands are effectively deploying strategies such as in-platform promotions, livestream commerce, content-driven marketing and influencer collaborations that have been proven to work. Their proven expertise positions them strongly in this rapidly growing market.

Focallure’s rapid growth: A case study in cross-border beauty success

Focallure, a colour cosmetics brand of Guangzhou Jizhi company, is establishing itself rapidly in the Southeast Asian market. In each Focallure Shopee store in each country, the brand offers over 250 SKUs – far more than most local competitors. Leveraging a customer-to-manufacturer (C2M) model in its factories in China, Focallure can customise products to local trends and price points, aligning closely with local Gen Zs’ spending power. With Focallure product prices typically in the USD2-5 range, they match the USD2-6 most Gen Z shoppers in Indonesia and Thailand spend per beauty item, with 68% of Indonesian Gen Z consumers spending under USD6 per item of eye make-up, according to Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Consumer: Beauty Survey, 2024.

Moving forward: What makes growth sustainable?

The rise of Chinese beauty brands in Southeast Asia highlights a competitive shift, where affordability and digital-savviness drive mass-market disruption. However, long-term success hinges not on short-term gains but on cultivating brand loyalty. Chinese players excel in pricing and e-commerce, but lasting growth demands deeper consumer trust.

To compete, many regional players are shifting their focus from price wars to premiumisation and portfolio expansion. Recognising that they cannot outmatch Chinese manufacturers on cost, local brands are focusing on differentiation through quality and innovation. International players are set to accelerate their digital-native strategies in Southeast Asia by fostering partnership with local start-ups.

To achieve sustainable growth, brands – regardless of origin – brands must differentiate through innovation and emotional connections, balancing value with authenticity to win in an evolving market.

Read our blog article and whitepaper The Rise of Chinese Brands in Southeast Asia for more analysis on how Chinese brands in other industries are expanding into Southeast Asian markets.