Weekly Roundup: Pierre Fabre inaugurates China R&D site, Tree Hut infuses mood-boosting scents in skin glow line

16 Jun 2023 --- This week, dermocosmetics giant Pierre Fabre set its sights on expanding in Asia, through the inauguration of an innovation and research center in China. Lush opened its first site in Vietnam. Also, body scrub brand Tree Hut experimented with functional fragrances that boost mood for added mental wellness benefits in its Tropic Glow line.

Business highlights
Expanding out of its sites in France, Japan and Brazil, Pierre Fabre inaugurated its new dermo-cosmetics innovation and research center in China, “Pierre Fabre China Innovation Center” (CIC). The CIC is based in Shanghai, in the district of Pudong, the nation’s “nerve center of new technologies and research.” Pierre Fabre China is today the first international subsidiary of the group’s dermo-cosmetics business, driven by the performance of three complementary brands among the six of the global portfolio: Eau Thermale Avène, with plant-based hair care and face care, Klorane and professional hair care brand René Furterer. The CIC is intended to strengthen the presence of these brands in China and the broader Asian cosmetics market. China is deemed a main contributing market that will enable the brand to reach one billion euros by the end of the year, according to the company.

Lush inaugurated its first shop location in Vietnam (Image credit: Lush).Essity divested its operations in Russia. The hygiene and health company signed an agreement with a buyer and the transaction has now been approved by the Russian authorities. The transaction is expected to be finalized during the second quarter of 2023. Essity began work in April 2022 to exit the Russian market and in 2022 an impairment was carried out of the company’s assets in Russia of approximately SEK 1.7 billion (US$160.1 billion). In 2022, Essity’s net sales in Russia amounted to approximately 2% of the group’s total net sales. The total earnings impact will be reported when the transaction is finalized but is not expected to have a material financial impact, the company states.

Lush inaugurated its first shop location in Vietnam. The opening event took place in the Vincom Dong Khoi mall in Ho Chi Minh City, with the attendance of more than 3,000 customers, media personnel and beauty influencers, including Diep Le, Call Me Duy, Nicky Khanh Ngoc and Misoa. At the event, the handmade cosmetics brand’s senior manager Steve Brackstone shared the reason why Lush is no longer active on social media platforms such as Facebook, Tiktok, and Instagram: “On Black Friday 2021, Lush decided to quit Meta and TikTok because we believe that it is not a safe place, and we do not want to ignore the serious effects of social media on people.”

Henry Rose, a genderless fine fragrance brand founded by Michelle Pfeiffer, announced its launch at Sephora in the US. Shoppers can now find a selection of Henry Rose fragrances in 224 Sephora outlets and online. After launching as a direct-to-consumer brand in 2019, Henry Rose made its first major foray into retail in 2022 by launching at luxury and beauty retailers including Credo Beauty, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Nordstrom.

New product launches
Charlotte Tilbury debuted its new Airbrush Flawless Lip Blur, designed as a “matte-meets-moisture” liquid lipstick. The product draws inspiration from the brand’s smoothing, blurring effects of its AIRBrush franchise. The lip blur comes in eight shades, including true nudes, nude-pinks, berry pinks and ruby reds in both warm and cool-toned options. Charlotte Tilbury is collaborating with supermodel Bella Hadid as the face of its new collection.

Charlotte Tilbury debuted its Airbrush Flawless Lip Blur, a “matte-meets-moisture” liquid lipstick (Image credit: Charlotte Tilbury).Body scrub brand Tree Hut launched two new lines – Moonlight Glow and Ocean Glow – to complement its Tropic Glow product line. The new Moonlight Glow and Ocean Glow lines are intended to promote a “new level of self-care that weaves together wellness of the body and the mind.” The Glow Collection features “Functional Fragrances,” which are specially formulated scents that work to elevate consumers’ moods and promote overall well-being. The lines are infused with ingredients like snow mushroom for skin-plumping and crushed amethyst for exfoliation. They also offer marine-inspired ingredients like green microalgae for moisturization and rainbow algae that helps to brighten skin and promote luminosity.

Skineez, a specialist in producing FDA-cleared medical grade compression products with hydrating benefits that improve skin condition, launched its Hydrating T.E.D. Anti-Embolism Stockings and Compression Socks and Sleeves. The wearables are available at Medigroup. Skineez’s compression products are clinically proven to help to prevent deep vein thrombosis, edema and leg discomfort for pre-operative and post-operative patients while hydrating the skin through skin care ingredients at the same time. As consumers wear Skineez wearable skin care and wellness wear, the microcapsules embedded in each garment break open naturally and slowly deliver the patented cosmetic ingredients to the skin. After ten washings, users can spray on the skin care with the Skineez cosmetic spray back into the garments for another ten wearings.

Social initiatives and recognitions
Seppic was awarded “Platinum” status by the sustainability certifier Ecovadis, which puts the chemicals producer in the top 1% of ranked companies. The Ecovadis standard assesses more than 75,000 companies on their Corporate Social Responsibility commitments, taking into account 21 criteria divided into four different themes: environment, social, business ethics and responsible purchasing. In 2021, Seppic obtained a score of 74/100 and was awarded the Platinum distinction, the highest status issued by the platform. This year, Seppic increased its score by four points, reaching 78/100.

Henry Rose, a genderless fine fragrance by Michelle Pfeiffer, announced its launch at Sephora (Image credit: Henry Rose).Laneige, Amorepacific’s global beauty brand, signed an international sponsorship partnership for marine conservation with WWF for Nature. Through this partnership, Laneige will conduct marine conservation activities in three countries: Korea, China and Thailand. The initiative will provide support for public awareness campaigns and waste collection activities, with the overhead goal of collecting 90 tons of marine debris on an annual basis. Laneige has been carrying out various activities over the last decade to improve drinking water in water-stressed countries globally and to protect sustainable water resources. In 2020, it signed a mid-to long-term partnership with WWF-Korea and adopted Cheongpodae Beach in Taean National Park, Chungnam as a designated beach. After research on marine debris of Cheongpodae beach and year-round regular cleanups, 235 metric tons of marine debris was removed in the last year.

Dove announced a strategic alliance with “Gracie’s Corner,” a children’s YouTube series, to celebrate the beauty of natural hair and help educate families about the CROWN movement: a company slogan to “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” In a special new short titled “Gracie’s CROWN,” which premiered on the “Gracie's Corner” YouTube channel last Monday, Gracie explained the importance of loving your hair and the CROWN Act to her audience and their parents. This short will kick-off a series of celebratory events and initiatives leading up to National CROWN Day on July 3, 2023, a nationwide celebration of Black Hair Independence Day.

By Benjamin Ferrer