According to APAC managing director, Raj Savji, the Spain-based firm sees considerable opportunities in Japan’s ‘innovative’ market.
“The country itself is the third largest beauty market in the world and the second in the APAC region. It's home to some incredible brands like Kose, Kao and Shiseido. For us, this is a fantastic opportunity to expand our strategy globally and grow our presence in the APAC region,” he said.
The company began actively exploring the Japanese personal care market in 2019 after exhibiting at CosmeTech Tokyo that year.
Since then, Quadpack has been exploring the market and has recently made its formal entry into the market by opening an office in Japan, led by Thomas Kuerner who has 25 years of experience in the Japanese beauty market.
“The work we've done over the last two years has been really essential to our formal entry into the market and now the creation of our new office in Tokyo. Based on the foundations that we’ve already built, and now with Thomas' leadership in Japan, we will continue to create a truly differentiated value proposition for the Japanese market by leveraging our core assets,” said Savji.
With the opening of this office, Quadpack has ambitions to capture 1% market share in APAC by 2025 and foresees that Japan will account for around 35% of its APAC sales.
With a base in Japan, the company hopes to stay ahead of the curve in terms of trends.
“Japan is a global trend hotspot. With our local presence, we now have access to leading emerging trends in real-time for potential global opportunities,” said Savji.
Offering differentiated product solutions
Savji told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that the firm sees an opportunity in the market for its sustainable packaging options, such as its microplastic-free products and wood packaging.
“The Japanese brands see Quadpack as a leader of sustainable packaging solutions especially in skin care which is a core part of our value proposition. We are a leading manufacturer of wood products and we're delighted that we've had many positive conversations with regards to supplying wood to the major brands in Japan,” said Savji.
He added that its range of wood solutions have been gaining interest in Japan for the differentiation it brings to the products.
“It has a number of appealing benefits for the brands. In addition to being an alternative to plastic, wood has a natural and luxury feel and, an added value proposition for the consumer.”
With its new offices in Tokyo, the company hopes it will be able to provide bespoke solutions for their local clients.
“We're able to produce solutions which are tailor-made for our client's brands. We will be active in creating bespoke solutions that meets their needs. Differentiation is really important and developing products that fit in with their brand strategy and consumer expectations. Having a local presence is really key to be able to work in partnership and collaborate with the leading brands,” said Savji.
Savji noted that the company also hopes to leverage on the two key acquisitions it made last year, Inotech and Louvrette.
“We can offer made-in-Europe products that are renowned for design, innovation and also quality and all three are critical for the Japanese brands and also the consumers.”
Moving forward, the company plans to look into partnering with or even acquiring companies that are already operating in Japan, said Savji.
“We will also be actively looking for manufacturing partners and future acquisition opportunities. This way we can increase our presence in the community and do our part of the local beauty community.”
