Regional marketing lead Fabrice Guillemard estimated that China’s medical beauty market was worth $22bn in 2018.
“It’s a very huge market and more and more consumers are going for plastic surgery or less invasive actions like botox,” he said.
This shows little signs of slowing down as consumers who choose to opt for semi-invasive cosmetic solutions are getting younger and younger.
This behaviour is cultivated by the selfie phenomenon in China, explained Guillemard.
The company has come up with three formulations featuring their key ingredients that tackle the most pressing skin issues in Asia Pacific.
For instance, the company is able to provide the effects of a facelift with SYN-AKE, a peptide that reduce the visible appearance of ageing.
“It blocks the activity of muscle cells that generate all those expression lines. It’s similar to botox injection but with cosmetic action that’s safe, reversible and super efficient,” said Guillemard.
To tackle whitening, one of Asia Pacific’s biggest segments in skin care, DSM combines alpha-arbutin and vitamin C to block the synthesis of melanin and destroy it on the surface of the skin. “It’s double action… and in line with a lot of approach, we see in this kind of light medical solutions.”
Another key concern in the market is hydration. “It is the basic of the basic. The most fundamental. It’s the number one segment but also the number one in terms of unmet needs. People are still not satisfied knowing they are using some common moisturiser,” said Guillemard.
Inspired by hyaluronic acid injections, DSM uses SYN-HYCAN, a hyaluronic acid booster. “It gives volume, plumps skin and boosts Hyaluronic Acid inside the epidermis. This is action from within. We are able to trigger Hyaluronic Acid synthesis within the skin to provide volume and moisturisation.”
Guillemard added that this concept of “light medical beauty” had global potential.
“Globally we are seeing more and more high concentration products on the market, like boosters. It’s a booming market now, especially in Europe and Americas. We are proposing this kind of concept, a more DIY approach where you can put high concentration ingredients inside daily formulations like shampoo.”
Localised for success
New concepts like these are one of the reasons why Guillemard believes DSM will continue to sustain the double-digit growth it has experienced in the past few years.
“I myself am based in Asia, so we are really localised. We are really here to answer, understand and catch the needs of the markets. We are working on a lot of customer insight to understand what the consumer wants and needs and so that we put ourselves in a position to win for the future.”
DSM has an application laboratory located in Shanghai to support the market.
“We certainly have higher momentum thanks to the resources we have set up in the region and all the actions we have taken to make it happen,” concluded Guillemard.
