KPMG's latest "2025 China Beauty Market Industry Report" shows that despite global economic uncertainties, China's beauty market continues to demonstrate significant resilience. From January to September 2025, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 36.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.5% year-on-year.
Cosmetics retail sales reached 328.82 billion yuan in the first three quarters. Although this represents a slight year-on-year decline, September saw a standout performance, with monthly sales reaching 36.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.6%, marking the fastest growth of the first three quarters.
The optimization of both policy and market environments has become a key force driving high-quality development in the industry. In 2025, multiple important cosmetics regulations and policies were implemented, establishing a more scientific and rigorous regulatory framework.
The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) released the "Opinions on Deepening Cosmetics Regulatory Reform to Promote High-Quality Industry Development (Draft for Comments)" in 2025, aiming for the cosmetics quality and safety regulatory system to reach internationally advanced levels by 2035.
The "Measures for the Monitoring and Evaluation of Cosmetics Safety Risks" officially came into effect on August 1, 2025, establishing a three-tier regulatory framework of ‘national coordination—local implementation—technical support,’ covering full-process risk monitoring from raw materials to end sales.
Raw material innovation has become a focus of policy support. In February 2025, the NMPA issued the "Several Provisions on Supporting Cosmetics Raw Material Innovation," encouraging the research and application of new cosmetic raw materials by streamlining review procedures and establishing dedicated approval channels.
Cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou have subsequently introduced policies to provide up to 2 million yuan in financial support for new raw materials successfully included in the national "Catalog of Used Cosmetics Raw Materials," promoting a shift in industry competition from marketing battles to core technology innovation.
The report reviews the development history of China’s beauty industry, from the industrial reboot after the 1978 reform and opening-up, to the current stage of full domestic brand rise and innovation. In 2024, Proya became the first domestic brand to surpass 10 billion yuan in GMV, marking China’s beauty industry’s leap from following trends to leading them.
Changes in consumer demand are driving product innovation. With the rise of ingredient-conscious consumers, attention to cosmetic formulations has increased, and higher expectations are being placed on the safety and efficacy of functional ingredients such as silicones.
In the first three quarters of 2025, cosmetics retail showed a differentiated trend. The sales boost from large promotional events has weakened, with consumers placing more emphasis on actual product efficacy and ingredient safety, prompting companies to increase R&D investment.
Industry experts point out that under the dual drive of policy support and market demand, functional cosmetic ingredients represented by silicones will enter a new round of technological innovation. High-purity, multifunctional, and eco-friendly silicone products are expected to become new market growth points.
With the improvement of the regulatory system and accelerated technological innovation, China’s beauty industry is moving toward a more mature, diverse, and internationalized new stage.