Window to Asia: Spanish cosmeceutical brand identifies HK as the launchpad of its Asian expansion

BIMAIO is one of the seven skin care brands under Amifar Laboratorios’ portfolio and will be available in Hong Kong through its official online store in the first quarter of this year.

Its entry into Hong Kong marks the company’s first foray into the Asian market.

“This is the first time Amifar Laboratorios decided to enter the Asian Market, although we had considered it a few years ago when we first visited China. We were impressed by the dynamism and vibrant nature of the market, its vibrant economic development and diversified consumer demands,”​ said Carlos Fuentes general director of Amifar Laboratorios.

Fuentes told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that the company made it a target to break into the Asian market by 2020.

“We felt that we were ready… We believe we have found the right people to run the operations in this part of the world and the right partners to go about the market in Hong Kong.”​

He added that Hong Kong was the ideal market to introduce the brand into the region.

“Hong Kong is the leading market in this region and is a window to showcase the latest vision and concept in well-being. We believe by connecting with this market first will offer us the insights and the knowledge needed to enter the rest of the Asian market later on.”​

Hong Kong will serve as a launchpad for the company to expand its footprint into Asia, where it sees ‘immense potential’ in the cosmeceuticals space.

According to the company, cosmeceuticals currently only make up about 20% of China’s skincare market.

“In Asia, personal care and beauty products are one of the fastest-growing categories. Asian consumers experienced significant lifestyle changes in recent decades and have a more sophisticated way of perceiving beauty and wellbeing.”​

The company is currently in the process of preparing to enter the China market through Tmall Global.

Aside from China and Hong Kong, the company is interested in markets like Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines.

Confident on HK expansion

While Hong Kong is a mature market with plenty of established global players, Amifar believes it is overly saturated with “standardised products”.​

“We think it is a great timing for Amifar to participate in this mature market and drive more awareness towards well-being and benefits offered by cosmeceutical products,” ​said Fuentes.

The company believes BIMAIO fills a gap in the Hong Kong beauty market with its “affordable but high quality”​ products.

“This is a highly active market with mature players, but we don’t think anyone can compete with Amifar in terms of cost versus value proposition,” ​said Fuentes.

He added that the company was very confident that the brand would resonate with local consumers which tend to be knowledgeable about skin care.

“Hong Kong consumers are extremely savvy and knowledgeable about cosmetic products, especially when it comes to ingredients and the effect they have on the skin.”​

Additionally, he said that the company is well equipped to adapt to ever-changing consumer behaviours.

“The unique trends we identified is that consumers are used to fast changes and are able to quickly adapt, the purchasing behaviour tends to be impulsive and experiential-driven. A company like us can be much faster to meet those demands as we are small, agile, adaptable. We are transparent in ingredient communication, guarantee efficacy and rapid results.”​