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C-beauty growth splits domestic brand strategies home and abroad

China’s beauty market is forecast to grow 6% annually through 2028, according to a report by consulting firm McKinsey, but recent earnings from two of the country’s largest domestic players tell different stories about who is capturing that growth. Proya, touted as China’s biggest beauty company, is struggling at home with an H1 2026 7% sales decline for its namesake brand, which it is now pivoting to the US market through an Ulta Beauty launch. 
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K-beauty shapes global formulation and breaks into new categories
K-beauty is growing away from a trend-based category into a global innovation model for the personal care industry. The category’s rapid spread has raised expectations around ingredient transparency, product efficacy, and an enjoyable sensorial experience during daily routines. South Korean skin care principles are moving beyond the simple “glass skin” or “cloud skin” trends and into a global force that other non-Korean innovators are inspired by. 
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Primient says intimate care safety hinges on formulation, not ingredients
Primient, a producer of plant-based and corn-derived ingredients, has identified that the safety of an intimate product is determined by the finished formulation rather than by any single ingredient. The company reports that women’s health and menopause care are on the rise, leading many brands to tap into the traditionally underserved market. But as the personal care industry embraces intimate health as a stand-out arena for innovation, dealing with such a sensitive area of the body raises formulation challenges that ingredient-level safety data alone cannot answer. 
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Sustainable beauty solutions
Innova Market Insights data indicates that new personal care launches with sustainable claims grew at a +31% CAGR from July 2021 to June 2026. While cruelty-free remains a key consumer marker of sustainable beauty, innovation is expanding into areas such as sustainable oils, 2-in-1 formats, recycled materials, and reef- and ocean-friendly solutions.
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Automating sleeved bottle packaging without compromising pack design
This article highlights the automation of sleeved bottle packaging, transforming a manual process into a high-speed solution while preserving brand identity and ensuring compatibility with both automated and manual operations.

This Technical Paper is brought to you by Cama Group.
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Consumer Reports: States urged to regulate braiding hair amid federal silence

Consumer Reports found heavy metals in nearly all braiding hair it tested, and volatile organic compounds in every sample. James Rogers, director and head of product safety testing at Consumer Reports, tells Personal Care Insights that no US federal agency clearly regulates the category, leaving labeling claims unchecked. He urges manufacturers to test ingredients and final products. Rogers also expects state rules and consumer spending to eventually drive change.

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Wella Company files for US IPO after returning to profit under KKR ownership
Wella store logo
Wella Company has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US. The move comes after the nail and hair care company backed by investment firm KKR returned to profit and increased its annual revenue to US$2.94 billion.By taking Wella public, KKR is positioning Wella to capitalize on improving investor appetite. The move follows KKR’s continued investment in Wella over the years, after the company initially purchased a 60% stake of the brand from Coty in 2020 for US$4.3 billion, including debt.
Bemotrizinol US FDA approval spurs sunscreen innovation
woman applied sunscreen on shoulder
Earlier this summer, sunscreen active ingredient bemotrizinol (BEMT) received US FDA approval, marking a major milestone for sunscreen innovation in the country. It became the first new sunscreen active approved in the US in over 25 years. BEMT’s US approval was inaugurated alongside the green lighting of dsm-firmenich’s BEMT ingredient Parsol Shield. BASF followed soon after last month, with its own BEMT ingredient marketed as Tinosorb S. The ingredient has launched in the US under a supplemental license agreement with dsm-firmenich’s parent company, DSM Nutritional Products.
CD Bioparticles releases exosomes targeting medical aesthetics
Woman with curly hair and a clean face with freckles
CD Bioparticles has launched a product portfolio of exosomes designed for the beauty industry. The lineup is said to help repair skin barriers, reduce signs of aging, lighten hyperpigmentation, and rejuvenate hair follicles, and is positioned as particularly attractive for medical aesthetics and sensitive-skin applications. The range, Exosomes for Cosmetics, includes research-grade vesicles, derived from plant and animal cells, that work by carrying biomolecules like proteins and lipids between cells. This natural process degrades with age, and boosting communication between the cells helps skin tissue heal and regenerate more effectively.
Symrise offloads terpenes business to Mutares in Care & Wellness pivot
Cosmetics chemicals for perfume making in a lab
Symrise has sold its AmeriTerpenes business to private equity firm Mutares for an undisclosed amount. The move allows the company to focus more on its higher-margin segments, under its One Symrise strategy, and grants Mutares ownership of the terpene-based raw materials business. Terpenes are used in fragrance as the primary botanical building blocks that replicate natural scents and dictate how a fragrance evaporates on the skin. 
Aptar Beauty creates refillable pump for L’Occitane hand care redesign
bottles and soaps
Aptar Beauty has provided L’Occitane en Provence with custom dispensing pumps that support the packaging redesign of the beauty brand’s hand care collection, transforming the products into refillable and reusable objects.The design draws on the brand’s apothecary heritage, with a bottle inspired by traditional apothecary jars and a pump stamped as a mark of the brand’s artisanal process.
Vitafoods Asia 2026: Lallemand’s new research on longevity and cognitive...
Lallemand booth on tradeshow floor

Nutrition Insight

At the ongoing Vitafoods Asia 2026 trade show in Bangkok, Thailand, Lallemand Health Solutions is showcasing how its latest microbiome solutions can address demand across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region for longevity and cognition. Nutrition Insight speaks with Karine Lasfargue, product manager at Lallemand Health Solutions, to learn about the new clinical findings on the company’s probiotics Cerenity and Cerebiome, which target longevity and cognitive health, respectively. 
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Personal Care Insights News
August in review: US–Canada tariff war, South Korea...
This month, tensions flared between the US and Canada, both moving to impact each other’s cosmetics industries with 50% tariffs. Asian countries continued to bolster their cosmetics markets with new regulations. China adopted its first mandatory national safety standard for cosmetics. South Korea passed the first law written specifically to grow its beauty sector. 
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Key interview
How carbon capture can rewrite surfactant chemistry in...
Carbon capture is emerging as a climate-friendly cosmetics solution, according to green chemistry company Viridi. The technology converts captured emissions into beauty feedstocks, introducing a cycle within production. It works by capturing CO2 emissions and converting them into new materials, chemicals, or products.
Two shipping containers with one having a US flag on it and the other a Canadian flag.
Policy & regulation news
US–Canada tariff war escalates with reciprocal 50%...
Canada has hit back at the US’s imposition of 50% tariffs by implementing its own “dollar-for-dollar” duties. Both countries have now included cosmetics in the trade war. The Canadian countermove responds to US tariffs that took effect Saturday, August 22. The US levies were set to take place on August 19, but were delayed for negotiations that have since collapsed. 

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Home fragrance trendsSep2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates that more than half of global consumers are motivated by scent when purchasing household fresheners. The market is responding with new product launches, with air ...

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K-beauty’s global impact Sep 2026

K-beauty is moving beyond the glass-skin trend to shape beauty innovation across makeup, hair, and body care. From fermented ingredients and barrier-focused formulas to cooling pore sticks, peeling foot masks, and sensorial hair rituals, Korean beauty concepts are being reimagined for a global audience.

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Sustainable beauty solutionsSep 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates that new personal care launches with sustainable claims grew at a +31% CAGR from July 2021 to June 2026. While cruelty-free remains a key consumer marker of sustainable beauty, innovation is expanding into areas such as sustainable oils, 2-in-1 formats, recycled materials, and reef- and ocean-friendly solutions.

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Consumer Reports video thumbnail: Stylist braiding purple extensions into a client’s long black hair, with a circular professional headshot inset
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Consumer Reports: States urged to regulate braiding hair amid federal silence

Consumer Reports found heavy metals in nearly all braiding hair it tested, and volatile organic compounds in every sample. James Rogers, director and head of product safety testing at Consumer Reports, tells Personal Care Insights that no US federal agency clearly...

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