Chinese Homegrown Cosmetics Brands Capture Majority of $149 B Market
Domestic cosmetics firms now hold almost 60% of China's $149 billion market, driven by better quality, lower prices and rising male grooming.
China's cosmetics market, valued at over 1 trillion yuan ($149 billion) last year, is now dominated by homegrown brands that claim superiority in texture and fragrance compared with foreign competitors. These domestic firms have captured nearly 60% of the market, a shift fueled by improvements in product quality and more affordable pricing. The sector's growth is also reflected in a surge of male consumers, whose share of cosmetics spending climbed to 35.74% in 2025, a trend bolstered by popular male actors using makeup.
In Daixi, Zhejiang Province, a former dust-laden mining area was redeveloped into a cosmetics development zone after a company founder identified the local water as ideal for production, leading to the establishment of a factory in 2009 and the attraction of more than 330 cosmetics companies. While consumer preferences are moving toward domestic products, the government under President Xi Jinping has condemned androgynous male beauty portrayals and urged removal of such images from public media.
