Biossance aims to establish itself as ‘clean beauty leader’ in China as it revs up APAC expansion

Biossance is the consumer beauty brand of the US-based Amyris. Launched in 2015, the brand is best known for the use of its 100% plant-based Squalane, which is derived from renewable sugarcane.

In late 2019, Biossance expanded its presence to the APAC region via its global retail partner Sephora.

Through Sephora, the brand is currently available online and in 80 stores covering Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

“Asia is an incredibly important market for us as we are highly focused on expansion, building Biossance into a truly global brand and helping to shape the future of clean beauty with high performance, science-backed, and consciously created products,” ​said Catherine Gore, president of Biossance.

In February this year, Biossance will expand e-commerce into China through its partnership with SuperOrdinary Group, a local clean beauty marketing platform.

Biossance’s foray into China follows a year of unprecedented growth for the brand when it saw sales up five times from the year before.

“With people staying home and travelling less, consumers are looking for simplified makeup and skin care routines, opting for effective, multi-tasking skincare products that provide more holistic wellness benefits.”​

Gore told CosmeticsDesign-Asia ​that with the growing interest in clean beauty, the brand was expanding into China at the right time.

“While clean beauty is still a relatively new term for the Chinese beauty consumer, we feel the opportunity is now for Biossance to bring its leadership to the Chinese market,”​ she said.

The firm believes the brand can fill the gap in the market for clean and sustainable skin care products.

“Skin care is the largest sector of the Chinese beauty market. Now more than ever, Chinese beauty consumers are interested in clean, sustainable products. However, access to such products and education is limited or not readily available in retail commerce in China,” ​said Gore.

As a digital-first brand, Biossance will enter the market initially via Tmall Global and other omnichannel platforms to establish brand awareness.

“We are keen to leverage shopping methods like live-streaming, which continue to increase in popularity year over year, as well as provide personalised content and education across omni-channel platforms,” ​said Gore.

The company hopes to use such platforms to share its knowledge of clean and sustainable beauty.

“We plan to address the needs of today’s consumers –  who want incredible results without causing harm to their own bodies or the planet – while also educating and setting a new standard for effective, clean and sustainable skincare as other brands begin catering to the growing trend in China,” ​said Gore.

Aside from e-commerce, the company would be interested in exploring opportunities in physical retail only when an animal testing ban is ‘100% implemented’ ​in China, said Gore.

In the more immediate future, the firm’s focus is to establish Biossance as a clean beauty leader in China.

Additionally, the firm will focus on expanding the presence of Biossance in Asia, especially in its existing markets.

“With our key strategic partners in place and a newly hired brand team to oversee APAC and China, we are ramping up our focus on Asia as a whole, projecting a significant shift to the Biossance business as well as the clean beauty market in Asia,” ​said Gore.