China to Amalgamate 3 Major Cosmetic Regulatory Authorities

During the NPC (National People’s Congress) conference, the State Council announced the amalgamation of CFDA,General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China(AQSIQ), State Administration for Industry & Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (SAIC) and the simultaneous formation of the National Market Supervision and Administration Bureau in their place. This will mean that in future cosmetics will be administrated by the National Market Supervision and Administration Bureau.

Members of the State Council explained that the National Market Supervision and Administration Bureau is directly under the Stated Council and will shoulder all responsibilities previously designated to the CFDA, AQSIQ, SAIC,National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China.

China Plans Development of Cosmetic Overarching Regulation in 2018

On the NPC Conference, China State Council released the 2018 National Legislation Plan. Replacing the Hygiene Supervision of Cosmetics Regulation 1989 with an updated overarching regulation is part of China’s plans moving forward.

Early in 2015 a draft of Regulations concerning the Supervision and Administration over Cosmetics was issued which was expected to replace Regulations concerning the Hygiene Supervision over Cosmetics 1989. This draft however was hugely controversial and was never implemented.

Asean Updates Cosmetics Directive to Ban Fragrance Ingredients

The Asean Cosmetics Committee has updated its Cosmetics Directive to include the ban of three fragrance ingredients, effective 23 August 2019.

The ingredients are 3-and 4-(4-hydroxy-4-methylpentyl) cyclohex-3-ene-1-carbaldehyde (HICC); 2,6-dihydroxy-4-methyl-benzaldehyde (atranol); and 3-chloro-2,6-dihydroxy-4-methyl-benzaldehyde (chloroatranol).

As of 23 August 2019, the ingredients will be banned from all new cosmetic products, while any existing products on the market containing the ingredients will be banned from 23 August 2021.

The committee made additional amends to its directive, which included a reduced maximum concentration of 2-methyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one (INCI)methylisothiazolinone in rinse-off cosmetics from 0.01% to 0.0015%,which will come into effect from 1 June 2019, the prohibition of zinc oxide where exposure could lead to lung exposure, as of 1 December 2018, and,commencing 1 December 2010, the labelling of “must wear suitable gloves”for oxidative and non-oxidative.

CFDA Officially Expand Pudong Filing Management to 10 New Locations

On 12 March 2018, CFDA announced that Pudong filing management for first import non-special use cosmetics will expand to Tianjin, Guangdong and other 8 Free Trade Zones.

During the period from 12 Mar. 2018 to 21 Dec. 2018, where the import from the above 10 pilot free trade zones, and the territory of the person in charge of registration in the free trade zones for the first time the import of non-special use cosmetics, is adjusted from current approval management to the new record management. The relevant documents, such as Procedures of Filing Management for First Import Non-special Use Cosmetics through Shanghai Pudong New Area(Interim), are applicable to the 10 FTZs mentioned above.

ISO 19619: 2018 Releases

On 10 January 2018, the International Organization for Standardization officially released Surface Active Agents—Determination of Free Propylene Oxide Content in Propylene Oxide Adduct Surfactants—GC Method (ISO 19619:2018)，which was set by China Research institute of Daily Chemical Industry. This is the fifth ISO standard established by China in the field of surfactant and detergent.

ISO 19619:2018 specifies an analytical procedure for the determination of free propylene oxide in surfactants which are synthesized from propylene oxide copolymers.

The method is appropriate for the qualitative and quantitative determination of propylene oxide groups in propylene oxide adducts, polyethers and polyglycol esters by headspace gas chromatography (HS-GC) with a flame ionization detector(FID) based on external procedure. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) is used for the confirmatory purposes.

China Releases New GB Standards for Cosmetic Industry

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) , as well as the Standardization Administration of China approved 291 national standards, 3 national standard amendment lists and 60 foreignlanguage versions of national standards on February,2018.

Among these 291 national standards,there are 35 national standards related to cosmetics and their raw materials.

Eyeliner and removal oil are for the first time to be regulated by GB national standards. Most of these focus on prohibited substances (such as Binapacryl and NDELA), restricted substances (such as Inorganic sulfites and hydrogen sulfites), preservatives(Undec-10-enoic acid and its salts),UV-filters and skin whitening substances. The GBs are listed in Table 1. These new standards apply from 1 September, 2018.

Table 1. GB national standards

PCHi 2018 Fountain Awards Celebrate Innovation

On 19～21 March, PCHi 2018 held at Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center.544 exhibitors from 29 countries and regions entered though its doors.

Making its second year at PCHi,the Fountain Awards were first introduced to reward and encourage the personal care industry to boost research efforts and create innovative technologies.

The winners of the PCHi 2018 Fountain Awards were chosen after whittling down over 100 submissions.All entrants were determined after assessment against a standard set of criteria.

The winners spanned several personal care categories including active ingredients, functional ingredients, green and sustainable personal care, and packaging and materials. The awards also recognized outstanding individuals of the year.

The active ingredients winners comprised innovative developments in moisturising and hydrating by Ichimaru Pharcos and Seppic Shanghai Rep. Office; anti-ageing by BASF(China) and Shanghai Jayu Bio-Technology; whitening and brightening by Azelis(Shanghai);and IFF-Lucas Meyer Cosmetics and Rahn AG for notable contributions in other areas relating to active ingredients.

Names and nods in functional ingredients included Lubrizol Specialty Chemicals(Shanghai)for emulsification and stability;Guangzhou Bafeorii Chemical for sensory enhancement; and Dow Chemical(China) Investment Company in the other category.

Croda and Evonik Industrial were awarded for their dedication to green and sustainable personal care products, while Coptis and Guangzhou Plance Industries were celebrated for their packaging and machinery innovations.

Zhou Jinke from Guangzhou Logicos Biotech and Kenichi Ito at Ichimaru Pharcos also received the prestigious accolade of Outstanding Individuals of the Year Award.

China: Total Retail Sales of Cosmetics 2017 Reaches RMB 251.4 billion

According to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2017, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 36,626.2 billion yuan, up by 10.2 percent over last year, 0.2 percentage point slower than last year. Among them, total retail sales of cosmetics reached 251.4 billion yuan, up by 13.5 percent over last year. This is not only well above the retail level of retail sales of consumer goods in general, but also the first month-on-month growth in recent years.

Sa-Sa to Pull Out of Taiwan Market by End of March

Chinese Hong Kong cosmetics and skincare retailer Sa Sa International has announced it will be removing all of its 21 stores from Taiwan China by the end of March,2018.

The company is set to be closing the stores due to them running at a consecutive loss for six years,with the focus now being on the commercially viable locations of Hong Kong China, Macau China and mainland China.

Indeed, the economy here is said to be even more profitable going forwards due to the development of an express rail line that connects Chinese Hong Kong to Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Likewise there will be a bridge opening between Hong Kong to Machau and Zhuhai.

The company is also said to be focusing on the development of its e-commerce business, with the store closures thought not to have a significant impact on sales due to the small 2.5 percent of turnover the Taiwanese market holds.

LVMH Sales Soar As Chinese Shoppers Snap up Luxury Products

L’Oréal Replicates Chinese Skin in Shanghai-Lab to Better Cater to Regional Consumer

LVMH has reported revenue of €42.6 billion for 2017, up 13 percent on the previous year. The company recorded an 11 percent rise in organic sales for the final quarter of fiscal 2017 with full year profit rising 18 percent to€8.3 billion.

The luxury behemoth revealed that its performance,which was well above analyst estimates, was boosted by the Chinese market where demand for luxury products is booming once again, Asian sales of prestige cosmetics were a particular highlight.

“We benefited from a highly dynamic Chinese market, which has continued to be the case in the very beginning of 2018,”said CEO Bernard Arnault at a briefing. The company said that it was “cautiously optimistic”about its performance over the year ahead.

Beauty giant L’Oréal has become the first cosmetics company to reconstruct Chinese skin in order to allow R&D teams to create more region-specific products such as anti-aging serums,whitening creams, and pollutionfighting cleansers in the lucrative Chinese market.

The penny-size reconstructed skin cells contain living cells from donors and are a way for the company to better understand Chinese skin, which is said to react differently to Caucasian skin in terms of aging and its reaction to the sun’s rays.

Sanford Browne, Vice President for research and innovation at L’Oréal China Co, said, “The Chinese consumer is the most demanding in the world in almost all our product categories.”

Browne went on to highlight that Chinese consumers want products that are specifically targeted to them,stating some buyers have told the company that, “I’m willing to pay for it, but I have to see a real benefit, and it has to be designed for me.”

Created in a Shanghai-lab,the skin reconstructions will help L’Oréal create customized make-up for consumers, as well as skincare,and is thought to be a way for the company to hold on to its position as the top-selling beauty company within China.

Some analysts think, in the past,companies would think the Chinese will buy European brands either way, but they’ve increasingly gone for local competitors. L’Oréal has recognized that trend and moved to adapt to the different genes to capture the huge potential of the Chinese market.

Shanghai Jahwa’s Goal to Become Global Cosmetics Leader

Having celebrated the 120thanniversary of its founding, Shanghai Jahwa United Co. Ltd.—China’s most historical consumer goods company—is looking to not only secure its leading position in its home market, but also rise to become a globally competitive player with the likes of L'Oreal and Proctor&Gamble.

To achieve that goal, the company will expand its portfolio in categories including high-end cosmetics,fragrance, cosmetology and health supplements, Zhang Dongfang,CEO of the Shanghai-headquartered company, announced at Jahwa’s anniversary ceremony on 23 March 2018.

The most imminent expansion will be in the high-end cosmetics sector, where the company’s two most premium brands, Herborist and Vive, will launch their lipstick and fragrance lines, respectively,around June.

Aside from diversifying the offerings and accelerating new product innovation of the 10 brands currently owned and operated by the company, Jahwa said it would also look for more opportunities for mergers and acquisitions. Last year,the company made its first overseas acquisition with the purchase of Tommee Tippee, Britain's largest milk bottle producer, at the cost of $197 million.

“For the first century Jahwa walked through, it grew from a local brand to a national industry giant. For the second,the mission is to be an international conglomerate,” Zhang said.

A new plant in suburban Shanghai -an investment of 1.35 billion yuan ($213.2 million) - is also scheduled to be in operation this year. At 140,000 square meters, it will increase the company’s manufacturing capacity by five times.

She added that the company wants to create a leading brand in every sector at the retail size of 100,200 or 300 million yuan, depending on the category, and reach 700 million consumers in the country.

Founded in 1898, originally as Kwong Sang Hong, Jahwa became a household name for its signature product, Six God Floral Water, in the 1990s. In 2008, Herborist, the company’s major money-spinner, stood out as the first Chinese cosmetic brand to retail overseas. Three years later, it became an archetype for State-owned enterprises to reform as it introduced Ping An Trust as its main investor.

However, the company has seen its helmsman replaced twice in three years since 2014, causing ups and downs for its business performance and its stock price over the period.

According to the company’s financial briefing last week, it reported revenue of 6.48 billion yuan in 2017,up 8.82 percent year-on-year.

China Goes wild for Made in Japan: Kaola.com to Invest ￥500 Billion on Japanese Merchandise

Major Chinese internet portal operator NetEase has revealed plans to invest ￥500 billion through 2020 on Made in Japan products, according to a report published by Nikkei Asian Review.

China’s premier cross-border e-commerce site, NetEaseowned Koala.com’s growth has been driven by the continuing interest in and thirst for Japanese products among Chinese shoppers, with popular products including Kose cosmetics and Kao diapers.

The internet shopping site is hoping that its specialism in allthings-Japanese will set it apart from rival operators such as Tmall and JD Worldwide.