Nimble Chinese beauty start-up Perfect Diary woos consumers with low prices and a strong social media presence

Helped by its presence on Douyin – the Chinese TikTok – and influencers such as ‘Lipstick King’ Li Jiaqi, Perfect Diary has become China’s No 3 cosmetics brand

A start-up launched just four years ago, it has won over patriotic Gen-Z consumers with its low prices, responsiveness to their needs, and basic product range

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Published: 11:15am, 29 Aug 2020Updated: 9:19pm, 30 Aug 2020

Through chat groups, video streams and low prices, China’s Perfect Diary emerged from nowhere four years ago to become a cosmetics giant for the digital age. It trails only L’Oreal and LVMH in the world’s No. 2 market for make-up.

The Guangzhou-based beauty unicorn – the term for start-ups valued at more than US$1 billion – has now set its sights on a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO). Before that, it’s driving into Southeast Asia, targeting millennial social media users like Wen Shan, a 21-year-old student from Guangdong in southern China.

Wen has ditched Western brands like Nars and Revlon and devotes her annual budget of 3,000 yuan (US$434) to Perfect Diary cosmetics such as eye shadow. Most cost less than 100 yuan and are made by the same contract manufacturers that supply Western brands.

She converted to Perfect Diary after a roommate’s tip. “The foreign brands have a large variety of foundations that often confuses me and I can’t tell which one is best on me … the Chinese brand knows what is good for local consumers.”

Perfect Diary has 4 per cent of the Chinese market for colour cosmetics. Photo: Reuters

Though still a global minnow compared with powerhouse L’Oreal, Perfect Diary now has 4 per cent of the Chinese market for colour cosmetics, according to 2019 data from market research provider Euromonitor. That ranks it joint third with Estée Lauder’s MAC, beaten only by luxury giant LVMH’s Christian Dior and three L’Oreal brands that have a market share of more than 20 per cent.