The top 10 skincare and cosmetics brands in Asia-Pacific

From eyeliners to cleansers, from foundations to moisturisers, and from concealers to anti-ageing serums, beauty is big business. See which brands get the most facetime in Asia-Pacific in this special report

Oct 20, 2021 08:31:00 PM | Article | Matthew Miller Share - Share to Facebook

We put stuff on our faces to enhance our appearance before going out into the world. Later, we use other stuff to remove the first stuff from our faces, for the sake of cleanliness. Then we put still other stuff—sometimes pretty expensive stuff—on our faces in the belief that we can promote long-term glow and maybe even reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles (as the fine print says).

But whose stuff are we putting on and taking off (and putting on)? The beauty business in APAC generates more than US$160 billion in annual revenue. What brands do consumers in APAC choose most when they're buying concoctions to make them look their best? That's what we're here to find out. 

The following facts about Asia's favourite skincare and cosmetics brands are derived from the 2021 edition of Campaign Asia-Pacific's exclusive Asia's Top 1000 Brands research, done in partnership with Nielsen IQ. The region's most comprehensive research on consumer brand perception, Asia's Top 1000 Brands asks consumers in 14 Asia-Pacific markets to name the brands they consider the best in 15 major product and service categories. From this, we compile the overall Asia's Top 1000 Brands ranking, a list of the top 100 brands in each market, and a variety of features and category-based reports like this one.

Without further ado...

ASIA'S TOP 10 SKINCARE BRANDS

Brand20212020Change
L'Oreal121
SK-II253
Dove330
Nivea41-3
Estee Lauder561
Chanel671
Shiseido74-3
Lancome891
Olay98-1
Johnson's10122


ASIA'S TOP 10 COSMETICS BRANDS

Brand20212020Change
L'Oreal110
SK-II242
Shiseido32-1
Maybelline43-1
Estee Lauder550
Lancome660
Chanel770
Olay8102
MAC98-1
Kiehl's10155

 

IT'S TIME TO FACE FACTS
Pore over these additional dollops of information about Asia's favourite skincare and cosmetics brands, across the region and in specific markets.

SKINCARE

Regional No. 1 brand L'Oreal is No. 1 in only one market:

  • Vietnam

Regional No. 2 brand SK-II is No. 1 in five markets:

  • Hong Kong
  • Malaysia
  • Singapore
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand

How to explain the above two facts:

  • L'Oreal ranks within the top 5 in 10 markets: No. 1 in Vietnam; No. 2 in China, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore; No. 3 in Australia, India, Indonesia and Thailand; and No. 5 in Philippines. It ranks within the top 20 in the remaining four markets. 
  • Although it ranks No. 1 in the five markets listed above, No. 2 in Indonesia, No. 3 in China and Japan, and No. 4 in Korea, SK-II also has some very low rankings (No. 61 in India and No. 33 in Philippines) that pull down its regional ranking.

Other No. 1s:

  • Dove: Australia, India, Philippines
  • Estee Lauder: China
  • Nivea: New Zealand
  • Shiseido: Japan
  • Sulwhasoo: Korea
  • Wardah Beauty: Indonesia

No. 2 in specific markets:

  • Cetaphil: Philippines
  • Chanel: Korea
  • Estee Lauder: Taiwan
  • Himalaya: India
  • Kao: Japan
  • L'Oreal: China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore
  • Nivea: Australia, Thailand, Vietnam
  • Shiseido: Hong Kong 
  • SK-II: Indonesia

Top 10 in only one market:

  • Aveeno: No. 6 in New Zealand
  • Avon: No. 10 in Phillippines
  • Bio-Essence: No. 8 in Singapore
  • Dabao: No. 9 in China
  • DHC: No. 5 in Japan
  • Eucerin: No. 4 in Thailand 
  • Garnier: No. 5 in Indonesia
  • Givenchy: No. 7 in China
  • Hada Labo: No. 7 in Japan
  • Kiehl's: No. 7 in Taiwan
  • Kojie San: No. 7 in Philippines
  • Lakme: No. 4 in India
  • Laneige: No. 3 in Singapore
  • Patanjali: No. 10 in India
  • Pechoin: No. 8 in China
  • Pond's: No. 5 in Philippines
  • Sukin: No. 5 in China
  • The Face Shop: No. 8 in Korea
  • Wardah Beauty: No. 1 in Indonesia

Brands 11-20 across the region (alphabetical order):

  • Cetaphil
  • Clinique
  • Dettol
  • Garnier
  • Himalaya
  • Kiehl's
  • L'Occitane
  • Lux
  • Sulwhasoo
  • The Body Shop


COSMETICS

Specific markets where L'Oreal is No. 1:

  • India
  • Malaysia
  • New Zealand
  • Singapore
  • Vietnam

Other No. 1s:

  • Amore Pacific: Korea
  • Estee Lauder: China
  • Maybelline: Australia, Indonesia, Philippines
  • Shiseido: Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan
  • SK-II: Thailand

No. 2 in specific markets:

  • Chanel: Korea
  • Eucerin: Thailand
  • L'Oreal: Australia, Indonesia, Philippines
  • Lakme: India
  • Lancome: Taiwan
  • Maybelline: New Zealand
  • Shiseido: Vietnam
  • SK-II: China, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore

Top 10 in only one market:

  • Amore Pacific: No. 1 in Korea
  • Clarins: No. 7 in Thailand
  • Eucerin: No. 2 in Thailand
  • Ever Bilena: No. 4 in Philippines
  • Innisfree: No. 3 in Singapore
  • Kanebo: No. 9 in Japan
  • Kao: No. 3 in Japan
  • Kose: No. 4 in Japan
  • L'Occitane: No. 7 in Taiwan
  • Lakme: No. 2 in India
  • Lamer: No. 5 in Taiwan
  • Muji: No. 8 in Japan
  • MyGlamm: No. 8 in India
  • Perfect Diary: No. 8 in China
  • Sugar: No. 6 in India
  • Yves St Laurent: No. 4 in Korea

Brands 11-20 across the region (alphabetical order):

  • Christian Dior
  • Clarins
  • Clinique
  • Etude House
  • Kose
  • Lakme
  • Neutrogena
  • Pond's
  • Revlon
  • Yves St Laurent (YSL)

Beauty, eh?

This article is filed under...
Top 10: Asia-Pacific's favourite brands in specific product and service categories

 

RELATED ARTICLES

Nielsen's Robert Gilby is Dentsu International's new APAC CEO

10 months ago| article

Nielsen's Robert Gilby is Dentsu International's new APAC CEO
Cryptocurrency marketing takes off in Asia, but with scams and fraud along for the ride

1 year ago| article

Cryptocurrency marketing takes off in Asia, but with scams and fraud along for the ride
40 Under 40 2021: Amrita Choudhary, Rohan Mehta, Vasuta Agarwal represent India

1 year ago| article

40 Under 40 2021: Amrita Choudhary, Rohan Mehta, Vasuta Agarwal represent India