J-beauty brand Sansho Kanken challenged in China by nuclear water fallout, fierce local competition

The decision to release wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean was one of the major talking points last year.

Beijing was one of its most vocal critics, moving quickly to ban the import of Japanese seafood once the water was released in August.

This also had repercussions on the Japanese cosmetics sector in China, with users on Chinese social media platforms questioning the safety of Japanese cosmetic products.

This affected some of the top names in J-beauty, including SK-II and Shiseido. The latter even suspended marketing activities in China to mitigate the effects of the fallout.

Almost a year later, Japanese skin care brand Sansho Kanken says it still feels the impact of the wastewater fallout.

Founded in 1968, Sansho Kanken expanded to China in 2007. It is available in China online and in beauty chain stores like Sa Sa.

Speaking to CosmeticsDesign-Asia, the brand’s local general manager, Zhang Sheng Jie, estimated that sales in China has been affected by about 20%.

To counter the backlash, it has relied on its marketing activities, such as employing the service of key opinion leaders (KOLs) to ensure consumers its products were safe to use.

He added that things have improved as media coverage of the situation has lessened significantly.

However, the recovery has been sluggish.

Zhang attributed this to the intensifying competition in the Chinese market, which now includes local players in addition to its fellow foreign counterparts.

These cosmetic companies are vying for consumer attention with increasingly sophisticated formulas, strong claims, fair prices, and thumb-stoppingly attractive packaging.

Furthermore, Zhang said that compared to its local counterparts, the brand does not focus on marketing and advertising, nor does it jump on trend bandwagons.

“That is the Japanese way,” he said.

He told us that the firm focuses on developing good product that speak for themselves and trust that it will grow organically from word-of-mouth.

Zhang noted that a major focus for the company would be to continue raising brand awareness in China

Despite the recent spate of bad press, Japanese skin care brands still remain in high regard for their reputation in research and development, even in China, he believes,

“China is big enough that you will find people that still recognise Japanese brands for their quality,” said Zhang.