A subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed group, Kingdom Group, the company specialises in hemp and flax-based linen production and is now turning its attention to promoting health care, cosmetics, nutraceuticals and body care items. This new collaboration with the HK $623.38 mn (€67.2 mn) capped company provides Creso with the opportunity to access and gain a foothold in the Chinese health, personal care and cosmetics sectors. The duo has struck up a mutually-beneficial agreement as this partnership w

On 6th December 2017, the large retail pharmacy, health and “daily living destination”​ announced it had reached an agreement with China National Accord Medicines to enter into an investment deal with its subsidiary enterprise, Sinopharm Holding Guoda Drugstores. The subsidiary operates throughout China and also boasts franchising retail pharmacies across the country. The alliance was made after a public tender process. The accepted bid will see Walgreens Boots Alliance take a 40% minority sta

On 6th December 2017, the large retail pharmacy, health and “daily living destination”​ announced it had reached an agreement with China National Accord Medicines to enter into an investment deal with its subsidiary enterprise, Sinopharm Holding Guoda Drugstores. The subsidiary operates throughout China and also boasts franchising retail pharmacies across the country. The alliance was made after a public tender process. The accepted bid will see Walgreens Boots Alliance take a 40% minority sta

'Myth#4: Customers must experience new products before they can say how much they’ll pay for it'​ Sampling is big in beauty and personal care. • Can brands garner attention, build sales, trust and loyalty, both with or without this approach, and what impact does it have on a brand’s value?​ Critically, it can be argued that if we only create items where there is a demand, then radical innovation will not flourish as consumers do not desire or require these game-changing products and services a

Sunny Um, Beauty & Fashion Analyst at Euromonitor International delivered a speech at the recent in-cosmetics Asia event on the main drivers pushing Asia’s leading position in the global skin care industry. We delve into the research company’s report to explore how this prominent sector is expected to develop. Asia remains the dominant player in global skin care sales​, amassing 51% of the world’s value sales and 6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2012-2017. Current dominating trend

Medical beauty business, Aestura, is selling off its filler brand Cleviel to Pharma Research Products. The move comes as Amorepacific develops its inroads in the anti-ageing and regenerative medicine sectors. Headed up by Lim Woonsup, CEO, the Amorepacific Group affiliate has entered into an MOU with Pharma Research Products, led by CEOs Jung Sangsoo and Ahn Wonjun. Signed on 11th January 2018, the recent agreement will see the two Asia heavyweights formally conclude the transfer of Clevial by

Multi-generational beauty buyers, emerging innovations from APAC markets, the competition between niche indie brands and multinationals, along with increasing disposable incomes are all helping brands to explore possibilities in the multicultural beauty sector. Far from experiencing exclusion from the multicultural beauty market due to the preferences for skin whitening in the West compared with skin tanning in the East, the skin care sector is seeing growth through adopting natural, sustainabl

Commenting on why online spending is currently so high, Matthew Crabbe, Regional Trends Director, Asia Pacific, at Mintel held that it is a combination of factors including a rapid surge in economic growth, rises in spending power and choice along with greater urbanisation, the large-scale shift of labour from manufacturing to services, the investment and development of logistics, growth in an online (and especially mobile online) population, uptake in online/cashless payments, and growth in tra

Hong Kong-based private equity firm, CITIC Capital China Partners, has now completed its acquisition of Trilogy International (TIL Group). New Zealand company, Trilogy International, is well-known for its numerous and far-reaching Oceanic and global brands including essential natural products and home fragrance names: Trilogy, ECOYA, Goodness, Lanocreme and By Nature. It also owns leading distribution platform, CS&Co, for beauty products in the New Zealand market. Prior to the acquisition comp

Following the launch of its bio-based butylene glycol for cosmetics and personal care​, we caught up with Damien Perriman, Senior Vice President at Specialty Chemicals at Genomatica on how the beauty and biotechnology conversation is evolving in 2018​. 1. What has been Genomatica’s stand out moment to date in APAC?​ Our partnership with Japanese chemical company, Daicel, has been a key development and we are very excited to have formed a collaboration with an existing innovator in the bio-base

Evonik appoints Azelis as its exclusive distributor in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. This decision comes as an extension of its previous distribution agreement. Effective immediately, Azelis will not distribute its ingredients outside of the European market into the leading and emerging Indian, Nepalese and Bangladesh regions. German-based Evonik's ingredient collections consist of a wide selection of actives, emulsifiers, emollients and functional ingredients for skin care, hair care and colou

On 12th April in Beijing, Asia Clean Capital (ACC) stated it had entered into a solar power supply agreement with Nivea Shanghai. The green energy creator has collaborated with the Shanghai arm of the German personal care name to build a solar system. ACC will build the new system on the rooftop, carport and open space in NIVEA's factory in Qingpu, Shanghai. As part of the terms of the agreement, the duo agrees that ACC will invest 100% of the system cost and undertake the design, construction

Global intelligence company, Mintel, has revealed that “China’s online retail market has reached a critical mass”. ​ Business-to-consumer (B2C) online retail was tipped to reach 60%+ of total e-commerce sales generated throughout 2017. Of this B2C retail category, mobile online retail is expected to make up 80%+ of ecommerce sales. Mintel estimated that “per capita online retail spend will rise to 45.7% of total per capita retail spend by the end of 2017; however, per capita online retail spen

Hong Kong-based private equity firm, CITIC Capital China Partners, has now completed its acquisition of Trilogy International (TIL Group). New Zealand company, Trilogy International, is well-known for its numerous and far-reaching Oceanic and global brands including essential natural products and home fragrance names: Trilogy, ECOYA, Goodness, Lanocreme and By Nature. It also owns leading distribution platform, CS&Co, for beauty products in the New Zealand market. Prior to the acquisition comp

On the 19th April 2018, the duo held a ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand, to celebrate its collaboration to drive the development of Thailand's digital economy and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) under the Thailand 4.0 policy. The Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Dr Somkid Jatusripitak; China's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Thailand, Lyu Jian; and the Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group, Jack Ma, attended the opening ceremony. Through this partnership, Thai government agenc

Recognising the rapid expansion and growth in the Asian market, specialist research, consulting and training company, Ecovia Intelligence, believes US and European companies are seeing the strategic rewards of investing in Asia-Pacific companies. Natural and organic cosmetic sales in Asia rose by 21% in 2017, compared to single-digit increases in both Europe and North America, Ecovia Intelligence reported. The consulting firm also believes that Asia has “high growth potential, considering the m

On 25th April, natural substances name, Lab INC, revealed it has unveiled its Demar3 Estud Protecter 3.2. This comes after partnering with international manufacturing company, HnG, on the research and development (R&D) phase. Together with the affiliate of Kolmar Korea, the duo has created its Demar3 Estud Protecter 3.2, which penetrates the lower layers of the epidural skin layer, making it impenetrable against daylight. Defence against skin damage is an ever-popular and evolving segment in S

Chinese household cosmetics and beauty company, Jala Group, has embarked on a trip to Australia’s major cities including Melbourne and Sydney to explore the technological retail arena. Teaming up with e-commerce retail heavyweight, Alibaba, the two leading names are exploring the use and potential of next-generation retail industry tools including facial recognition technology and QR codes. Jala Group’s recent tour also gave Australian cosmetic lovers a glimpse of this technology at play via i

The Rocket-owned company, first set up in 2012, also bolsters efforts and development in Southeast Asia via its operations and strategic connections in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Alibaba’s operations in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal aim to support its expansion in Southeast Asia. Its purchase of the beauty selling goods name, Daraz, is a step towards this. No financial deals were disclosed. Daraz is not the first rocket internet company for Alibab

Based in Seoul, the distributor of personal care ingredients specialises in cosmetics and will now see the South Korean company join the Azelis portfolio. Making the announcement on 14th May 2018, Azelis, which is located in Seoul and currently has 17 employees, is set to purchase Sammi. The speciality chemical’s latest acquisition marks its first entry into the South Korean market. It has now upped its presence to a total of 12 countries across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) area. The transaction a