MT Cosmetics is a Japanese company founded in 2005 and has a global presence in countries including Indonesia, China, New Zealand, Russia and Finland.
The firm’s flagship brand is MT Metatron, a high-end professional line primarily distributed through beauty clinics and aesthetic salons.
It also owns Sandalphon, a skin care brand aimed at younger consumers that claim to help them get the coveted V-shape facial profile. Additionally, it also produces devices for the professional channel.
In recent years, the company has been focusing on its overseas expansion, where it has observed more people opting for aesthetic treatments, resulting in higher demand for professional-grade skin care products.
“In Japan, it's common knowledge that your aesthetic treatment does not end at the clinic and it is essential for you to have the proper treatments at home so you can prolong the effects of your expensive professional treatments. Now, we see more people in Asia starting to understand this,” said president and CEO Masatoshi Nakanishi.
This, dubbed the medical beauty trend, has prompted the firm to expand regionally. It expanded into Singapore through the professional aesthetic channel in 2012 and entered China through cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) in 2019.
Focus on China
While it has only been in China for two years, the market already accounts for 35% of the firm’s entire business.
“We expect it to grow even further and believe the China business might eventually be on par with our Japanese sales volume,” said Nakanishi.
According to MT Cosmetics, medical beauty (医美) is one of the key trends in China at the moment and is being heavily scrutinised by companies like Alibaba, with which the firm works closely.
To tap into the opportunities in China, the firm is preparing to push the brand into China’s booming professional aesthetics channel, which has been growing as people now have more disposable income.
Nakanishi added that the COVID-19 pandemic has inadvertently accelerated the demand for aesthetic treatments.
“Today, because a lot of us are working at home and have to wear masks, some people see it as an opportunity to go for more aesthetic treatments without exposing that you went for treatment.”
Moving forward, the company intends to focus its resources on the Chinese market, but not just in China itself.
“Our strategy is to reach out to Chinese consumers wherever they are. For example, our distributors in New Zealand are also Chinese and reaching out to the expats there,” said Nakanishi.
Additionally, the company expanded its business in Singapore by entering the consumer market by launching in departmental store Isetan.
Nakanishi told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that the company considers Singapore a strategic location, noting that it has a diverse consumer base of expatriates and high-net-worth customers.
