Brand story: Top news on the big-name beauty brands across APAC

1 – Pro-beauty at home: Amorepacific launches ‘home-aesthetic’ brand to meet demand for result-driven cosmetics​

South Korean cosmetics conglomerate Amorepacific is scheduled to launch its first ever professional-grade beauty brand Holitual to meet rising consumer desire​ to have effective skin treatments in the comfort of their home.

Holitual was among one of the four start-up beauty brands showcased by Amorepacific at Cosmoprof Asia this year. This also marked the cosmetics maker’s first time exhibiting at the trade show.

“Holitual is a professional beauty therapy brand that merges latest innovations in skin care with the expertise of aestheticians,” ​said Jaekyung Yoo of Holitual, Amorepacific.

“This is the first professional beauty brand from Amorepacific but it also meant to be used at home so you can get professional results in your own home.”​

The brand will launch in Korea by the end of November the professional and mass-market channels. It will launch with five products – a peel, a serum, a mask, ampoule and a face cream – which were meant to mimic the experience of an aesthetic facial treatment.

2 – Hope and beauty: Kao to kick off Kanebo rebrand with launch of 44 new make-up items in 2020

Japanese cosmetics conglomerate Kao Corporation is set to release 44 new colour cosmetic products in February 2020 to mark the official rebrand of cosmetics brand Kanebo.​

Kanebo is one of the eleven strategic brands (G11) the Kao group has positioned at the core of the group’s global cosmetics businesses. The company’s aim is to grow the presence and status of Kanebo on the global cosmetics stage as a leading brand.

The brand first appeared on the global stage in 2016 with a premium skin care line. This coming spring, Kanebo will officially roll out a new marketing campaign based on the concept of ‘hope’.

The company explained that the new message would serve the aspirations of consumers all around the world who value individuality, diversity, and personal qualities that distinguish themselves from others.

It said the ‘Birth of Hope’ campaign was aimed at consumers that are ‘proud of their individuality and believe that they can create their own future.’​

3 – e’quipe to strengthen global business with launch of active wellness beauty brand

Cosmetic firm e’quipe Ltd. has announced the launch of athletia, a skin care and lifestyle brand that taps into the rising active beauty and wellness trends​ in the market.

athletia joins RMK and SUQQU as the third cosmetics brand from e’quipe, which is a subsidiary under Japanese cosmetics firm Kao Corporation.

The brand was launched to tap into the rising trend for wellness-focused beauty in the region.

“People are living longer, and more people wish to stay healthy and maintain beauty both physically and mentally. It has become more ordinary to see people exercising regularly, whether it be yoga or working out, amid their busy lifestyles,” ​said the company.

The brand will officially launch in February next year via its official website and at two department stores in Japan.

The company has scheduled two more department store launches in the same month before unveiling the athletia flagship store located in Omotesando.

4 – An ‘e-commerce’ firm no longer: Lazada Singapore CEO says the future is in ‘new retail’ space

South East Asian retailer says Lazada says the lines are continuing to blur between online and offline, with the e-commerce giant unveiling a new physical store with Amorepacific​ in Singapore.

With the opening of the AMORE Store X Lazada, Lazada Singapore CEO James Chang has boldly declared that Lazada is no longer an e-commerce company.

“We’re dropping the ‘e’ – we’re now a commerce company, not just e-commerce any more,”​ he said.

AMORE Store X Lazada is just the beginning of the firm’s venture into the world of new retail, which will be a point of focus for the company in the new year.

Chang told CosmeticsDesign-Asia​ that this move was essential given the shifting shopping behaviours of shoppers.

“When we launched Lazada in 2012, the consumer was shopping for structure products – things that are easy to compare and have specifications that can be easily communicated through pictures or text. ​

5 – Kao Corp develops beauty consultation service based on RNA monitoring technology

Japanese cosmetics company Kao Corporation has collaborated with tech start-up Preferred Networks Inc. to launch a new beauty consultation service that monitors RNA in sebum.​

The firm worked with Preferred Networks (PFN) to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, such as machine learning and deep learning, with the data obtained from the sebum RNA.

PFN’s AI tech will then utilise the informing gathered by Kao’s sebum RNA monitoring technology to develop a “highly sophisticated prediction algorithm”.​

This will enable Kao to gain a better understanding of the skin’s internal condition and will allow it to assess future risks of skin damage.

Kao believes this will eventually allow them to personalise skin care product and beauty advice based on genetic information.

“We have high expectations that collaborating with PFN will greatly improve the accuracy and speed thanks to PFN's considerable experience with the utilization of AI technologies in the bio-healthcare field,”​ said Kao Corporation President and CEO, Michitaka Sawada.