Vietnam beauty growth faces stunt risk as counterfeits undermine confidence

Vietnam’s cosmetic market is undergoing rapid expansion, but industry leaders are warning that a stark rise in counterfeit and untraceable products is undermining the sector’s stability. According to beauty stakeholders, the parallel growth is eroding consumer trust and threatening the competitiveness of legitimate domestic cosmetic brands. 

The warning comes as regulators and beauty industry representatives gathered for a seminar in Hanoi, Vietnam, held on June 19, as part of Beauty Summit 2026. Addressing the growing concerns of the cosmetics market’s transparency, attendees noted that the rise of e-commerce has allowed misleading advertisements, intellectual property violations, and fake product listings to spread across digital platforms.

Counterfeit cosmetics can divert sales away from legitimate brands and damage their reputations when consumers cannot distinguish between genuine and fake items.

Event attendees agreed that, once a consumer’s trust is broken, beauty businesses may struggle to rebuild their customer base, which could result in a loss of market share to both counterfeiters and foreign competitors perceived as more reliable.

“Development of the domestic market is not simply about expanding consumption,” Bui Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy director of the Agency for Domestic Market Surveillance and Development, said at the seminar.

“It also requires ensuring the quality of growth and strengthening consumer confidence in products on the market.”

Counterfeit clickers

The event highlighted the important role that traceability technologies play in protecting legitimate beauty players, especially amid the rise of e-commerce-powered purchases.

According to local reporting, beauty products generated the highest gross merchandise value across e-commerce sites Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada, and Tiki in Vietnam over the past year.

However, in February, Vietnamese authorities dismantled a 25-tonne counterfeit cosmetics ring that sold counterfeit Chinese-made cosmetics through Facebook and e-commerce platform Shopee.

For legitimate beauty businesses, the challenge is no longer only to expand, but to endure and survive in a market where counterfeit products can damage consumer trust.

“Combating counterfeit goods and protecting consumer rights are key priorities that contribute to a fair, competitive environment and the sustainable development of the domestic market,” Tuan said at the event.

Counterfeit cosmetics sold through e-commerce websites can damage consumer trust in the authentic brands.Officials stressed that businesses, distribution networks, industry associations, and consumers must all play a part in ensuring bootleg products are axed, and safe consumption is enforced, noting that the responsibility does not fall solely on the government. 

Tapping tech for trust

As the Vietnamese cosmetics market looks to sustainably expand, beauty brands are urged to comply with legal regulations and provide transparent product information.

Similar market growth trends in Nigeria have spurred the country to implement safety controls in the form of QR codes, allowing consumers to verify a beauty product’s authenticity by simply scanning it.

Established players like Chanel have also turned to technology to combat counterfeiting. Last year, the premium cosmetics label unveiled a digital verification e-logo to help consumers identify authorized online retailers of its beauty products.

The limitation with these kinds of transparency tools is that they only work if every participant along a cosmetic company’s supply chain maintains and discloses accurate and up-to-date information. But this can be expensive and logistically challenging. 

Dr. Ariati Aris, scientific affairs specialist at PhytoGaia, previously told Personal Care Insights that brands are adapting their supply chain strategies to enhance reliability and traceability.

“Brands are increasingly investing in more integrated supply chains, direct sourcing partnerships, and digital traceability systems. Emerging technologies, including blockchain and advanced tracking platforms, are also being explored to enhance transparency and strengthen data integrity across the value chain,” she said.

Vietnamese beauty retailers attending the seminar, including Saigon, Central Retail, Lotte, and GS25, have agreed to build transparent supply chains.

Moreover, a B2B networking program held alongside the event brought together manufacturers, distributors, and service providers to form partnerships aimed at strengthening and streamlining the beauty supply chain.

The Vietnamese beauty sector hopes that this enhanced cooperation between stakeholders will help drive competitiveness and sustainable domestic beauty growth.