L’Oréal issues apology after mislabeling Chinese zodiac “Asian wisdom”

28 Nov 2022 --- Shortly after unveiling its new luxury beauty label, Shihyo, L’Oréal has apologized for referring to the 24 solar terms of the traditional lunar Chinese calendar as “Asian” wisdom. The communicated term drew complaints from some Chinese netizens, who felt it to be too broad.

PersonalCareInsights has reached out to L’Oréal for further comment.

On its official Weibo account, L’Oréal China publicly addressed consumers last Friday, stating it “loves and respects China’s long history and culture.”

The beauty titan apologized for the fact that the press release communicated by its new brand of its South Korean joint venture, Loshian, did not accurately state that the 24 solar terms originated in China.

“We always believe that the 24 solar terms are a precious cultural heritage from China, an important part of the traditional culture of the Chinese nation, and have also had an important impact on other Asian cultures,” it said in a statement.

L’Oréal issued an apology for the fact that its joint venture Loshian incorrectly labeled the 24 solar terms of the Chinese lunar calendar as, broadly, “Asian.”Respecting heritage
L’Oreal’s North Asia division and Loshian launched Shihyo last week, under a partnership with South Korea’s Hotel Shilla and Anchor Equity Partners. Shihyo’s products are a blend of herbal ingredients, such as fermented rice water and ginseng.

The brand Shihyo, which can be translated as “the wisdom of time,” was announced by a press release stating it was inspired by “the Asian wisdom of the 24 seasons,” in reference to the way the Chinese divide a lunar calendar year into 24 segments, called “solar terms,” based on the sun’s position.

The use of solar terms demonstrates the changes in nature and climate. The Chinese calendar was developed as a reference point to guide agricultural production.

Chinese web users accused the French beauty conglomerate of lacking common sense, asking it to respect traditional Chinese culture.

Meanwhile, L’Oreal has been actively strengthening its online e-commerce activity in China, holding down a top position on the TikTok platform, with its L’Oréal Paris account ranked the first in the skincare category.

Seoul Garden
Shihyo’s first flagship store, the “Seoul Garden,” is planned to open in the coming months at The Shilla Seoul Hotel in South Korea, with the ambition of engaging with consumers through an “immersive experience.”

The products will also be available in select e-commerce platforms in Korea. In China, the products will become available next year and in other countries in Asia sequentially, the brand shares.

“Rooted in traditional wisdom and knowledge of naturality, Shihyo represents Asian luxury beauty. Shihyo delivers the highest skincare quality thanks to its signature patented ingredient, offering the most elevated luxury beauty experience,” says Cyril Chapuy, president at L’Oréal Luxe.

In North Asia, which consists of markets like China, Japan and South Korea, L’Oréal posted like-for-like sales growth of only 0.3% due to a combination of pandemic restrictions and lockdowns in China, one of its largest markets.

On October 11, L’Oréal China said it started the construction of an intelligent operation center in Suzhou, East China’s Jiangsu Province, which will improve the warehousing and logistics efficiency of its local plants. It is expected to enter operation by the fourth quarter 2023, in order to support online and offline sales of its cosmetics and hair care products in China.

By Benjamin Ferrer