The Estée Lauder Companies has made a minority investment in “clean” beauty startup Code Mint through its New Incubator Ventures (NIV)—its first-ever investment in a Chinese beauty brand.
 
Code Mint is owned by Hangzhou Jianfa Meixue Technology and founded by internet celebrity Grace Chow. The brand’s hero products include a cleansing balm with grape extracts, an amino acid cleanser and its caffeine-laced Iced Americano Sheet Mask. 
 
The investment in Code Mint by Estée Lauder shows that foreign capital takes a positive long-term view of China’s beauty market, especially of Chinese brands.
 
According to GlobalData, the Chinese makeup market is projected to grow from $5.9 billion in 2020 to $8.9 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 8.3% through 2025.

 

 

 

 

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Other Global Beauty Companies Focus on China

Earlier this year, Fabrice Megarbane, North Asia President and China CEO at L’Oréal, shared insights into the company’s thriving business strategy in North Asia and the remarkable recovery of China’s consumer sector. Megarbane shed light on the key signs of recovery, evolving consumer trends, and L’Oréal’s investment plans aimed at bolstering their market presence in the region.