In China men's skincare boom, start-ups & investors seek rich glow

China’s radiant male skincare market has a fresh shine: A raft of domestic start-ups is tapping global investors for funds, with ambitions to rival giants like L’Oreal in a billion-dollar business serving image-conscious millennial men like Hou Junru.

The 24-year-old Shanghai education worker got into skincare as a student and splurged more than $1,000 on creams and lotions in e-commerce firm Alibaba's giant November 11 Singles Day promotion. “My need is to keep the skin moist and look pale,” said Hou. 
 

It’s a priority shared by many of his peers, influenced by the spread of social media and South Korean pop culture that embraces a softer version of masculinity. Already the biggest in the world, the Chinese men’s facial skincare market is forecast to hit 12.5 billion yuan ($1.90 billion) this year — and expand 50 per cent to 18.5 billion yuan in 2025, research firm Mintel estimates.

Market research provider Euromonitor International estimates the men’s skincare business in China, excluding post-shave products, was last year already more than three times the size of the US market in dollar terms and more than twice the size of South Korea — with value growth through 2024 seen easily outstripping both.

Drawing on the huge reach of online retailers like Alibaba and JD.com, at least 10 new Chinese male skincare brands have been set up this year, said media reports.

“A great number of small brands are emerging through online channels,” Mintel said in a recent report. 

Six of the new players between them raised more than 300 million yuan between them, the founder of one brand told Reuters. Bertelsmann Asia Investments said it has invested in a new Shanghai brand, without saying how much, while others like SIG Asia and Redpoint Ventures have also placed sector bets, according to domestic media reports and start-up research database CB Insights.