The company announced that the new White Shot products, White Shot LX and White Shot MX will be released on May 24.
First product with new whitening active in 10 years
According to the company, these ‘quasi-drug’ product launches suppress melanin accumulation while preventing spots and freckles.
“With the launch of these products, which have been recognised for this efficacy and safety, we aim to further revitalise the whitening market,” said the company.
It highlighted that Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved the ingredient under the new stricter screening criteria.
The company claimed that the new active had a ‘totally different mechanism’ from other whitening actives available on the market.
The company said it did not have plans to reformulate the existing White Shot products with the new active ingredient.
Instead, it will focus on exporting the new products overseas where the brand is already sold, such as China and Hong Kong.
Pola Orbis is hoping to replicate the success it has had with its popular ‘quasi-drug’ wrinkle cream, Wrinkle Shot, which was also released under the POLA brand.
According to the company, POLA accounts for more than 50% of the group’s entire sales and is continuing to experience steady growth in the prestige cosmetics market in Japan and abroad.
In 2018, POLA was the driving force which propelled the company’s growth while brands such as ORBIS, Jurlique and H2O Plus suffered.
Future of POLA
The company said it believes Wrinkle Shot and White Shot are the future of POLA and the company.
“We are particularly good at whitening and anti-ageing, where market growth can be expected in the future.”
The company did not reveal the sales target for White Shot but said the annual sales of White Shot Series in 2018 was approximately ¥7bn ($63m).
“With the launch of White Shot LX and White Shot MX we will expand market share as a whitening series that consumers can use for longer.”
Pola Orbis added that it expected net sales of POLA to grow at the rate of 35% to reach approximately ¥15bn by 2020.
It plans to do this by expanding the number of POLA stores from 50 to 100 by 2020, allowing it to introduce Wrinkle Shot and White Shot to more consumers.
Of the 100 stores, Pola Orbis said that 40% will be launched in China, where the brand is thriving.
It also plans to increase POLA sales in the travel retail sector, where the brand has been growing as well.
