Chinese Beauty Platforms You Should Probably Be Aware Of
Welcome to RooLife Group's fortnightly newsletter. Today, we'll be exploring four of China's most influential beauty and cosmetic platforms. You can check out the full article including six platforms on our website. We hope you enjoy.
MeiZhuangXinDe (美妆心得)
Meizhuangxinde (MZXD) is a mobile beauty app founded in 2013. It functions as a comprehensive cosmetics guide and community forum and is popularly referred to as the ‘Dianping of China’s Beauty Industry’.
Their 80 million users comprise mostly of millennials and Gen-Z. Roughly 77% of their user base are those born post-90s and including 44% post 95s. These generations are commonly regarded to be of the highest value, not only to the beauty category, but to eCommerce overall.
Users leverage MZXD primarily as a research tool, gaining access to discounts and product recommendations. Signing up as a member yields you access to exclusive offers and discounts, most of which are issued by targeted coupon offers.
Expansion into Retail & Distribution
More recently however, MZXD has branched out to expand their retail operations, both online and offline. Since 2017, they have opened over a dozen physical retail outlets under the ‘Meixingjia’ banner, not including a string of pop-up and experience stores. They have also launched a Cross-Border eCommerce model.
At the time of writing, this store boasts over 1,000 SKUs from over 200 brands in the mid-high-end skincare and makeup categories. SKU selection has been optimized using big data provided by the online app and are updated weekly. Interestingly, MZXD are betting on makeup as the driving force behind the growth of the beauty industry. They recently forecast that makeup products will likely comprise 40-50% of their physical retail stock in future, up from 30% today.
Below are some screengrabs and photos from the recent launch of their trial ‘In77’ Hangzhou Experience store. These stores comprise of a few key elements, including:
- Makeup Classes
- Makeup Studios
- Skincare Salons
- ‘Beauty Black Technology’
- Overseas brands
- Beauty experience awards & competitions
- New Retail O2O integrations (including a WeChat Mini Program Onramp)
Mogujie (Mogu)
Mogu is a publicly listed, social eCommerce platform founded in 2011 and backed by Tencent. Founded by former Alibaba engineer Chen Qi; Mogujie translates to ‘mushroom street'. The original incarnation of the platform aimed to mimic Pinterest. However, as most posts and listings linked Mogu’s communities to Taobao, the transition into ecommerce was inevitable.
Similarly, to MZXD, Mogu’s 62.6 million active users are 80%+ female. By contrast to MZXD, they comprise a slightly older age bracket. As you can see in the age breakdown right, Mogu is popular not only amongst students, but also young working professionals.
Livestreaming: Now Central to Mogu’s Value Proposition
In March 2020, Mogu made an announcement that their livestreaming business is gaining momentum, comprising for 53% of GMV (+14% YOY). This included a 155% leap over the 2019 Singles Day festival alone. You can check out their third quarter fiscal year 2020 highlights here.
When checking out any of Mogu’s livestreams in your web browser, you’ll be prompted to enter Mogu’s WeChat Mini-Program to actually view the broadcast. From there, you can see just how seamless, pain-free and convenient shopping is via the platform, with user comments and purchase links clearly available.
[Image Source: KR Asia, 2019]
MeiLi XiuXing (美丽修行)
MeiLi XiuXing (MLXX) is an ingredient-query tool that has been making waves across China in recent months for breaking stories on harmful ingredients being used in popular skincare products.
Founder Yi Ou famously worked for many years in China’s chemical industry as a polymer material project manager. She frequently saw first-hand the effects many of the chemicals used in popular skincare products were having on young female users. In 2011, she left her high paying job to return to Shanghai, with the plan of starting an enterprise to solve this issue.
After posting an ingredients analysis article in a public beauty forum, Yi Ou was swamped with over 200,000 likes as thousands of readers reached out to her for help and advice. This was the point in time when she realised that Chinese consumers probably do not need another beauty eCommerce app. However, they certainly do need a tool which helps to identify which product ingredients are safe, effective and/or harmful. After years of development, MeiLi XiuXing was launched in 2015.
Key Value Proposition of MeiLi XiuXing
MLXX aims to shine a light on the efficacy and safety of ingredients being used in popular cosmetics products. The reason for its recent explosive popularity is that everyday users can check the ingredients of more than 2 million cosmetics with one click. i.e. Is it safe? Is there a risk of causing acne? Can pregnant women use it? To summarise its key features, users can:
- search by product or by ingredient.
- Access multiple databases including China’s State Drug Administration
- conveniently access real consumer and expert/KOL reviews about any given ingredient.
- Seamlessly access ‘recommended’ alternatives to the products/ingredients they are browsing. This enables them to incorporate scientific evidence to their decision-making processes.
Furthermore, MLXX can also be tailored to the individual user’s skin type to optimise recommendations / guidance; through openly leveraging the globally renowned ‘Skin Type Solution’ developed by US dermatologist Dr. Leslie Baumann M.D.
[Below: Meili XiuXing CEO Yi Ou - Image Source: Sogou, 2019]
You Look So Good Today (你今天真好看)
You Look So Good Today (YLSGT) is an AI skincare tool which was launched in 2016. It enables users to regularly check their skin health by simply taking a photo. Firstly, when you fire up the app each day, it gives you a summary of your local environment conditions, enabling you to plan your skincare routine accordingly. I.e. will there be sun or rain? What is the AQI (Air Quality Index) today?
Upon opening, the user is prompted to take a photograph of their face (with the flash on). Based on the photos, the app then provides you a summary of specific feedback, information and guidance on how to care for your skin. YLSGT’s algorithms are so extensive, it is claimed that they can identify the skin age, pores, blackheads, oil level, smoothness, skin tone (the list goes on) with over 90% accuracy.
The user can obtain tailored, scientifically based skin care advice that even factors in local environmental factors, such as temperature and humidity. Based on these findings, YLSGT will then suggest suitable products and Ingredients.
The app has gained much attention since launching in 2016. Its concept has even been allegedly plagiarised by one of China’s biggest technology companies. Today, YLSGT boasts over 5 million users, roughly 90% of which are female, and most of whom live in Tier 1 and 2 cities.
