Research on Premium Cosmetics and Skincare Market in Philippines and Vietnam

Expanding on GLOBAL ANGLE’s extensive research into the Vietnam and Philippines market as well as SEA’s beauty products industry, this case study examines the premium cosmetics and skincare sector in these high-growth markets.

Philippines 

With a growing middle-class, the Philippines is progressing towards becoming an upper-middle income country. This evolution has spurred the growth in the nation’s premium beauty and personal care products sector. Despite this, the competitive landscape within the premium beauty and personal care in the Philippines remains highly fragmented. This suggests a potential unmet demand for premium beauty and personal care offerings, indicating opportunities for new entrants.

Furthermore, with the proliferation of social media usage among consumers in the Philippines, it has played a major role in influencing consumers’ purchase behaviour to become more sophisticated in their tastes and interest in premium beauty and personal care products. As such, the Philippines’ beauty industry holds huge growth potential and emerges as an attractive market for new brands seeking to offer premium-priced cosmetic and skincare products.

Vietnam 

Vietnam boasts one of the highest average salary growth rates in the Asia-Pacific region, fueling the rapid expansion of its middle-class consumer base. With a burgeoning middle class and surge in purchasing power, the consumers here exhibit a robust appetite for premium beauty and cosmetics products.

Not to mention the locals’ growing interest in foreign cosmetic brands due to the perceived higher quality and effectiveness. It is no wonder why global cosmetic brands are increasingly drawn to Vietnam, with the influx of premium brands witnessing a steady rise in recent years. This is reinforced by the opening of various retail chains like Watsons, Guardian and new players like Pharmacity and Matsumoto which significantly expanded the accessibility and reach of imported cosmetic products to middle-class and affluent customers in Vietnam.

With a favourable consumer landscape, rising interest in foreign brands, and an expanding retail infrastructure, Vietnam presents a compelling market opportunity for premium cosmetic brands seeking growth and expansion opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.

To understand the market of premium cosmetics and skincare in Philippines and Vietnam including market size, brand share, distribution, competitors’ marketing and products, GLOBAL ANGLE conducted a market research project by desk research, interviews, and store visits. Based on the results of the research, we created a long list of distributors with the potential for the client to collaborate, and shortlisted them with pros and cons of each player so that the client could consider their market entry in a most efficient way.

• Conduct desk research on competitors’ products and marketing strategies in each market, distribution as well as macro economics and regulations. Clarify if each competitor brand localises their marketing strategies in Philippines
• List up distributors as a long list and give each one scores based on the services they provide, shortlist them using this score system
• Conduct interviews to distributors with potentials to work with the client in order to understand the possible way of collaborations
• Visit major retail stores in each country to capture competitor stores’ aesthetic
• Analyse the results of the desk research, interviews, store visits, and distributor list as a comprehensive report

Analysis of competitors’ activities on SNS

Analysis on competitors’ marketing strategies

Store opening information

Potential partner evaluation