China's beauty industry is expanding its presence in international markets, with export growth accelerating and a wider range of destinations emerging for Chinese beauty products.

In the first half of 2026, China exported 932,300 tonnes of beauty, cosmetics and toiletries products, valued at US$4.577 billion. Export volume increased 33.1% year on year, while export value rose 28.4%. The faster growth in volume than value highlights the strong momentum behind China's beauty exports and the expanding role of overseas markets in the industry's growth.

Against this backdrop, Topease was invited to participate in the China Brands Going Global Service Tour at Oriental Beauty Valley in Shanghai's Fengxian District on September 20–21, 2026.

Under the theme "Supporting Beauty Brands Going Global and Exploring Global Opportunities," the event brought together beauty companies, industry experts and professional service providers to discuss overseas market development, brand expansion, compliance, intellectual property and international growth.

Topease contributed its trade intelligence expertise to the event, with Vergil Wang, Marketing Director at Topease, delivering a keynote presentation on China's beauty industry, global market opportunities and practical approaches to international trade development.

China's beauty exports enter a broader global market

The international beauty trade is becoming increasingly diversified.

Global exports of beauty, cosmetics and skincare products reached US$77.2 billion in 2025, up 2.2% from 2024. France, South Korea, the United States, Germany and mainland China were the five largest exporters, together accounting for 48.3% of global exports.

For Chinese beauty companies, the changing global trade landscape creates opportunities beyond traditional markets.

China's cosmetics exports reached US$7.82 billion in 2025, an increase of 9.2% year on year. The United States remained the largest export market, followed by Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Japan. At the same time, Southeast Asia continued to gain importance, with China's cosmetics exports to ASEAN reaching US$1.23 billion, or 15.7% of total cosmetics exports, in 2025.

Individual markets also recorded significant growth. China's cosmetics exports to Indonesia reached approximately US$370 million in 2025, while exports to Thailand increased 22.8% and exports to Russia increased 34.9%.

These changes show that China's beauty export landscape is no longer defined by a small number of established destinations. Growth is increasingly distributed across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and other international markets.

For companies looking to expand overseas, identifying these changes requires more than understanding overall market size. Product-level trade flows and buyer activity can provide a more detailed view of where commercial opportunities are developing.

Topease joins beauty companies in Oriental Beauty Valley

The China Brands Going Global Service Tour brought internationalization support directly to companies in one of Shanghai's major beauty industry clusters.

On September 20, expert teams visited eight representative beauty companies in Oriental Beauty Valley, including DaiLaiMei, Pechoin, RuiMei Biotechnology, Yisheng Skin, Zhuowen Health Technology, Jingxi Fragrance, Shengwei Pharmaceutical and Yifei Pharmaceutical Technology.

The visits focused on R&D and manufacturing capabilities, overseas brand development, channel expansion, international compliance and intellectual property protection.

On September 21, the program continued with a centralized business empowerment session. Industry experts shared insights on overseas growth opportunities, global beauty market trends and intellectual property protection for beauty products, followed by discussions between participating companies and experts.

Topease joined the program as an industry service partner, contributing trade data and market intelligence perspectives to the discussion.

The event was reported by Shanghai media as bringing professional overseas expansion services directly to companies in Oriental Beauty Valley, with the goal of supporting more local beauty brands in developing international markets.

Vergil Wang shares a data-based view of China's beauty industry going global

During the September 21 session, Vergil Wang, Marketing Director at Topease, delivered a presentation titled "China's Beauty Industry Going Global: Global Market Insights and Trade Implementation."

The presentation focused on the changing competitive environment for Chinese beauty companies and the practical considerations involved in developing overseas markets.

China's domestic beauty market has become increasingly competitive, while Chinese beauty brands have continued to strengthen their product development and manufacturing capabilities. At the same time, international markets are becoming an increasingly important avenue for companies seeking new sources of growth.

Wang highlighted that going global is different from simply exporting products.

This distinction is becoming more relevant as Chinese beauty brands move beyond early-stage cross-border e-commerce and begin developing more established positions in overseas markets.

Recent market developments illustrate this shift. Chinese beauty brands have expanded from Southeast Asian e-commerce channels into offline retail and other established international markets, with companies increasing their investment in local distribution and brand development.

From market opportunities to trade intelligence

As overseas expansion becomes more sophisticated, companies need to move beyond broad market comparisons and examine actual trade activity.

For a beauty company considering a new market, several layers of information can be relevant:

This is where Topease's trade intelligence capabilities can support international market development.

The Topease E-Platform enables companies to analyze trade flows by HS code and product keywords, compare destination markets and examine company-level trade activity.

For beauty companies, this can connect market research with practical customer development. Instead of stopping at a country-level market opportunity, companies can further investigate relevant importers, purchasing activity and supplier relationships.

Topease also connects trade intelligence with customer development capabilities, allowing companies to move from market analysis and buyer identification to multilingual outreach and CRM-based lead management.

Connecting China's beauty industry with global markets

Oriental Beauty Valley provides a relevant setting for this discussion.

Located in Shanghai's Fengxian District, Oriental Beauty Valley has developed into a major cosmetics and beauty industry cluster, bringing together companies and services across R&D, manufacturing, branding and related areas. It was officially recognized as "China's Cosmetics Industry Capital" in 2017.

The China Brands Going Global Service Tour created an opportunity for companies within the cluster to discuss the practical challenges of international expansion with specialists across market research, consulting, intellectual property and trade intelligence.

For Topease, the event also provided an opportunity to bring global trade data closer to companies at the stage of developing overseas markets.

Supporting more informed global expansion

China's beauty exports are growing, but international expansion is increasingly about more than increasing shipment volumes.

As Chinese beauty brands enter a wider range of markets, companies need to understand where demand is developing, which product categories are gaining traction, who is buying, and how sourcing relationships are changing.

Trade intelligence can provide an important layer of evidence for these decisions.

Through its participation in the China Brands Going Global Service Tour, Topease shared its perspective on how trade data can help Chinese beauty companies better understand international markets and translate market opportunities into practical business development.

As more Chinese beauty brands build their presence overseas, Topease will continue to provide global trade data and intelligence solutions that support companies in understanding markets, identifying potential buyers and developing international business opportunities.