What’s trending: The most-read stories on APAC beauty market and consumer insights

Tourist sales increase by 29 times as Chinese return to Korea’s Myeongdong district – Olive Young​​

Olive Young’s March tourist sales in its five Myeongdong stores have increased 29 times year-on-year, boosted by the return of Chinese travellers.

Myeongdong is one of the primary shopping districts in Seoul and a major tourist hotspot in the city.

During the same period last year at the same stores, tourist sales accounted for 12% of sales. This year it increased sixfold to 73%.

Ouai hair care observes rising interest in scalp care in SEA​

Luxury hair care brand Ouai say opportunities abound in scalp care as interest and awareness of scalp health grows in South East Asia.

Since the US brand launched in the SEA market around five years ago, its best-selling products have been its hair oil and leave-in conditioner, which help to control frizz.

However, Ouai’s latest scalp serum has overtaken its most popular products, even though it only launched in SEA in June last year.

Fekkai gears up to meet demand for clean hair care in Asia​

US-based hair care brand Fekkai is set to accelerate its expansion in Asia this year to tap into the growing demand for high-performance clean hair care products.

In partnership with beauty retailer Sephora, the Fekkai brand is debut across Asia this year in markets such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. The business also has its sights set on markets such as China and Indonesia.

The company believes that Asia holds plenty of opportunity for hair care brands in several areas, from treatments to styling products.

China's consumers on the hunt for safe yet novel cosmetic ingredients​

Chinese consumers are on the lookout for novel cosmetic ingredients, while also keeping a closer eye on safety and ethics as the country emerges from the shadows of the pandemic, says ingredients firm Clariant.

It has also noticed a rising demand for natural, sustainable and exotic ingredients, especially those that offer anti-ageing solutions and address the needs of sensitive skin.

As Chinese consumers are paying more attention to function claims, Clariant will continue to focus on naturally sourced active ingredients to meet these expectations.

Luxury halal Swiss brand targets clean beauty market in South East Asia​

NUME-Lab is seeing a market gap for skin care combining Swiss quality and halal certification, and has detailed expansion plans for Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

The brand pursued halal certification as it was a recognised standard for a clean product.

“The halal factor, for us, was something we wanted to have as we wanted clean ingredients in our product. A clean product doesn’t really have a standard and the halal factor is a standard and a certification,” said co-founder ​Paulina Kostrzycka.