Brand story: Kao, Watsons and Kosé feature in our latest big brand update

1 – LG H&H ventures into beauty tech with mini tattoo printer for North American market

South Korean firm LG Household & Health Care is set to enter the beauty tech space with a mini tattoo printer​ that it plans to launch in North America in the fourth quarter of this year.

Printly is set to debut in the North American market through Arctic Fox, a US-based vegan hair care brand it acquired in 2021.

The brand has been popular among millennials and gen-Z consumers with over two million followers collectively on Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook. The firm said it would utilise Arctic Fox’s existing channels which it plans to expand this year.

2 – Kao to discontinue or divest another 13 of its beauty brands by 2024 as pandemic impact persists

Kao is mulling over the decision to discontinue or divest another 13 of its beauty brands​ by 2024 to focus on its core G11 and R8 products, amid warnings that the impact of the pandemic will continue to be felt across the 12 months.

Speaking during the earnings conference, president and CEO Yoshihiro Hasebe said that the company expects the impact of the pandemic to persist this year.

Hasebe revealed that the company had decided to discontinue or divest 28 brands and had already axed 15 of them.

3 – Watsons reveals strategy for success in ‘vibrant’ Middle East skin care category

Health and beauty retailer Watsons says positioning itself as a ‘skin care expert’ is key to achieving success in the Middle East​ market.

The company is laying the groundwork to position itself as the “skin expert” ​for the beauty enthusiasts in the region.

“The Middle East has a huge potential health and beauty market with skin care category being one of the fastest-growing beauty categories. Before Watsons’ entry into the market, there was no health and beauty retailer with the breadth of skin care expertise that we can offer,” ​said Jonathan Watts, General Manager of Watsons GCC.

4 – Kosé says seven sunscreen UV protection agents don't harm coral growth

Kosé says it has established a method that can evaluate the effects of cosmetic ingredients on corals with high reliability and has shown that seven UV protection components do not pose a threat.​

The Japanese beauty giant says it will now be possible to evaluate the effects of sunscreens and other cosmetic ingredients on corals. 

“As a result of visual evaluation, no abnormalities were found in coral growth in any of the specimens… It was confirmed that the seven types of UV protection agents commonly used for sunscreens do not affect the growth of corals at environmental concentrations.​

5 – Yatsen’s skin care investments offset make-up decline

Yatsen Holdings has managed to achieve growth in 2021 thanks to investments in skin care,​ which helped to offset the soft demand for colour cosmetics.

The decrease was attributable primarily to the decrease in sales from its colour cosmetics brands.

"The fourth quarter was a challenging quarter, marked by soft consumer demand and intense competition in the colour cosmetics segment,” said Huang Jinfeng, the founder, chairman and CEO of Yatsen.

However, it was partially offset by the 327.7% increase in total net revenue from its skin care brands.