The country's beauty market is witnessing an increase of domestic brands that are consolidating their positions and driving sector growth, according to industry reports.

Data from the China Association of Fragrance Flavour and Cosmetic Industries show that among the top 500 brands by transaction value in 2025, the number of brands exceeding 100 million yuan ($14.74 million) in scale rose from 746 in 2023 to 839 in 2025. At the same time, the market share of domestic brands climbed to 57.37 percent, marking five consecutive years of growth and signaling a fundamental shift in market power.

Leading listed and pre-listing companies in China's first-tier beauty market are performing strongly. Data from FBeauty show that the top 10 domestic beauty enterprises generated total revenue exceeding 60 billion yuan, with 3 billion yuan now serving as the new threshold for inclusion in the top 10.

These enterprises are evolving strategically: moving from reliance on single brands to multibrand portfolios; from traffic-driven to research and development-driven models; and from a domestic focus to global expansion. Each shift reflects the broader trajectory of the country's beauty industry.

In 2025, the top 10 domestic beauty listed and pre-listing companies posted combined revenue of 60.072 billion yuan and net profit attributable to shareholders of 7.16 billion yuan. This represents a significant leap from 2024, when total revenue stood at 54.37 billion yuan and net profit at 4.883 billion yuan.

The market's upper echelon remained largely stable. Proya retained its leading position with 10.59 billion yuan in revenue, marking its third consecutive year as the top domestic beauty company and the only enterprise to surpass the 10-billion-yuan milestone. Chicmax Group achieved a 35.12 percent year-on-year growth rate, closing in on the 10-billion-yuan threshold. Shanghai Jahwa United returned to growth, ranking third with 6.31 billion yuan in revenue.

The mid-tier segment proved highly competitive, with the companies ranked fourth to seventh all reporting revenue around the 5-billion-yuan mark. Botanee Group and Chando were separated by just 41 million yuan, highlighting the potential for rapid ranking changes. Mao Geping Cosmetics officially joined the "5-Billion Club" with 30.01 percent growth. Although Giant Biogene saw a slight revenue decline, it maintained fourth place at 5.52 billion yuan.

Marubi Biotechnology acted as the "gatekeeper" of the top 10 with 3.46 billion yuan in revenue. Meanwhile, S'young Group and Yatsen Holding — which underwent adjustments last year — returned to growth, both achieving double-digit increases.

For example, according to Yatsen Holding Ltd's 2025 annual financial results, the company achieved full-year revenue of 4.3 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 26.7 percent. Gross margin improved to 78.2 percent, up 1.1 percentage points year-on-year. Notably, non-GAAP net profit reached 8.4 million yuan, marking a historic breakthrough as the company recorded its first-ever annual non-GAAP profit since going public.

The skincare business demonstrated robust growth momentum, with net revenue surging 63.5 percent year-on-year to 2.28 billion yuan, accounting for 53 percent of total annual net revenue. The company has established a high-quality dual-engine growth pattern driven by both skincare and color cosmetics, providing more resilient support for future business expansion, said the company.

The company continues to adhere to an R&D-driven strategy, maintaining consistent investment in scientific research. In 2025, R&D expenditure reached 140 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25.6 percent, with the R&D expense ratio remaining above 3 percent for the fourth consecutive year. The company's cumulative R&D investment has approached 700 million yuan.

Industry data support the rise of beauty and cosmetic products. In terms of cosmetics, retail sales reached 32.6 billion yuan in April, representing a year-on-year increase of 4.7 percent, said the National Bureau of Statistics.

In the first four months, retail sales of cosmetics in China reached 154.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.6 percent. This growth rate significantly outpaces the 4 percent recorded during the same period last year and far exceeds the 1.9 percent increase in the total retail sales of consumer goods.

Cosmetics accounted for about 0.93 percent of total consumer retail sales during this period, marking a further increase compared to the previous year. The industry's sustained recovery trend has injected strong confidence into the market for the first half, said Cosmetic Newspaper.