Hyper-personalisation: CJ OnStyle launches personalised shampoo developed with Cosmax

The new brand, Wake Me, was announced by CJ OnStyle on March 4 and targets millennial and generation Z beauty consumers. The brand was developed to align with the trend for “hyper-personalisation” in the beauty market.

The brand’s first product is a shampoo that can be tailored according to individual lifestyles and hair conditions.

The bespoke shampoo can be customised based on a one-on-one online questionnaire that can be accessed through the CJ OnStyle platform.

This digital consult will diagnose the condition of hair and scalp and select a bespoke formulation based on function, fragrance, and effect. According to the firm, there are exactly 14,494 formulation possibilities.

Each formulation will be represented by a seven-digit ‘recipe number’ that will be labelled on the bottle.

With this code, consumers would be able to easily reorder the same product and look up information on the raw materials.

CJ OnStyle is a retail unit CJ Group, a conglomerate comprising several businesses spanning food, retail, pharmaceuticals and entertainment.

CJ OnStyle and Cosmax inked a strategic business agreement last October to capitalise on what both firms believe to be huge potential for personalised beauty products.

"The market trend has changed to centre on customised and small-volume production, allowing us to introduce a customised cosmetic brand that can meet individual needs. Together with Cosmax, the global number one cosmetics ODM, we will introduce highly customised cosmetics that can fit the latest beauty trends,” ​said Oh Seok-min, head of health and beauty, CJ OnStyle.

With more focus on personalisation, the company said it plans to expand Wake Me with more product categories, including skin care in the future.

According to Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), the global customised cosmetics market is expected to grow to U$4.05bn by 2025.

To tap into this growth potential, Korea’s lawmakers have implemented a special set of regulations for personalised cosmetics, which have undoubtedly encouraged K-beauty firms to explore this avenue.

Since the customised cosmetic regulations came into force in March 2020. Players like Amorepacific and Cosmax have invested in personalised beauty products and services.

Cosmax believes that tapping into the personalised cosmetics trend can help it to achieve its target of U$2.5bn in sales in 2022.

In addition to its partnership with CJ OnStyle, the firm is set to unveil a smart factory that will be equipped to fulfil personalised beauty requests.