Glow up: Shiseido’s serum foundation attracts new consumers, boosts Q1 sales

In Japan, Shiseido successfully delivered robust growth in its core brands, led by flagship brand SHISEIDO and Clé de Peau Beauté, due to a steady increase in consumers.

The firm highlighted that SHISEIDO’s Revitalessence Skin Glow Foundation was responsible for capturing a large share of new customers.

According to Shiseido president Kentaro Fujiwara, 80% of sales of the serum foundation came from new customers, of which around half were in their 20s.

“This new launch has turned out to be very successful. And since April, we have started a TV commercial, so going forward we expect there will be even more new customers and we will continue to grow in the future,” ​said Fujiwara, who is also the firm’s chief operating officer.

This was part of the company’s overarching goal to focus on its core brands in the Japanese market, particularly, SHISEIDO and Clé de Peau Beauté

“Brand SHISEIDO and Clé de Peau Beauté grew significantly, and this growth came from the new customers. That’s good news for us,”​ said Fujiwara.

Serum-first innovation

The makeup-skin care hybrid product was launched in the latter half of 2023.

The formulation is the combination of niacinamide and fermented kefir extract which the company claims to support the moisture barrier function of the skin.

According to SHISEIDO, the makeup ingredients are microencapsulated and contained in the essence. The brand has dubbed this the Serum First technology.

This involves “encapsulating the foundation ingredients on a microscopic level by gently wrapping them in the serum and stably locking them in,” the brand claims on its website.

During application, the serum spreads over the skin first before the pigments, allowing the serum to “stay in contact with the skin”.​

The brand has extended this line with a primer, launched SHISEIDO Essence Skin Glow Primer, which also contains the combination of niacinamide and fermented kefir extract. This launched on March 1.

It has also launched a foundation with the same technology under its drugstore brand, Maquillage.

According to the firm’s own market research conducted in 2024, the consumer attitude towards makeup has shifted since COVID-19.

More were relying on and investing in skin care to keep skin looking healthy and beautiful. Conversely, makeup like foundation is seen as being “burdensome” on the skin.

The research noted that around 70% prefer not to use foundation or use less foundation.

Instead, most are opting to use concealers on targeted locations or tinted primers.

Moreover, Shiseido also benefitted from the steady recovery in inbound tourism consumption on the back of a rising number of foreign visitors to Japan, which has exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

In the first quarter, net sales in Japan increased by 19.3% on a reported basis. to JPY73.6bn (USD472.4m). Core operating profit was JPY6.7bn (USD43m), up from JYP8.3bn (USD53.3m) the previous year.

Overall, Shiseido’s Q1 net sales increased 3.9% to JPY249.5bn (USD1.6bn) on a reported basis while Core operating profit was JPY11.3bn (USD72m), a slight decline from JPY12.5bn (USD79.4m) the previous year.