May 5, 2023

Xiaohongshu Marketing: China Summer Explosive Growth for Sunscreen Product and Skincare Industry

In this article, we explore the latest trends in the Chinese sunscreen market, with a focus on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) and its explosive growth. We also provide tips for brands looking to market their sunscreen products in China this summer, with a particular emphasis on targeting consumer needs and leveraging data-driven insights. Don't miss out on this opportunity to tap into the rapidly growing Chinese sunscreen market!

As the summer approaches, sunscreen has become a hot topic in the marketing world and the demand for sunscreen is increasing rapidly, entering the peak season in the market. Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), a popular social media platform in China, has seen explosive growth in sunscreen-related content, with engagement levels reaching new heights. In order to stand out in this highly competitive market, brands must focus on upgrading protection while considering skin texture, multi-angle marketing strategies, and unlocking potential marketing scenes such as outdoor and light-based beauty.

This year, the trend in the sunscreen market is towards “upgraded protection and multi-faceted considerations”.

What trends are worth paying attention to? Based on the report by Qiangua, in this issue, we summarize and provide brands with data support and directional guidance through data analysis and insight into notes content on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).

Monthly growth rate reaches up to 501.36%. The competition for sunscreen in the summer of 2023 is intense.

According to data from QianGua, a platform for marketing insights, the peak period for advertising related to sunscreen on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) in 2022 was concentrated between May and August. In 2023, the demand for sunscreen products is expected to increase dramatically, with the number of commercial notes related to sunscreen growing by 501.36% in February and 382.03% in March compared to the same period in 2022. QianGua predicts that the competition in the sunscreen market will be even more intense this summer.

The concept of sun protection has become increasingly mature, and the growing demand for anti-aging and anti-fatigue among consumers, coupled with the booming outdoor tourism market, has led to a greater need for sun protection. As a result, brands are rapidly increasing their advertising efforts.

Demographics:

Consumers in the sunscreen market on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) are mainly aged between 18-34 and live in first-tier or new first-tier cities. These cities account for over 60% of the total market, with the 18-24 age group making up 49.17% and the 25-34 age group making up 39.51%.

In the first quarter of this year, the top 10 groups using sunscreen included beauty enthusiasts, home lovers, and students, who are the core target audience. Compared to last year, there has been a faster growth rate among the young white-collar workers group, with an average interactive volume per post of over 10,000, second only to the student group. The interactive volume of posts from those interested in weight loss is only slightly lower than that of beauty enthusiasts, and individual posts perform no worse than those of beauty enthusiasts.

Therefore, in addition to the core target audience such as beauty enthusiasts, brands also need to pay attention to the needs of potential groups such as young white-collar workers and those interested in weight loss.

2. Entering a new phase of product recommendation in Xiaohongshu

High SPF, Light Texture, Anti-Aging: Core Demands Upgrade

The era of ‘sunscreen for all’ has begun, with upgraded demands for sunscreen experience, effectiveness, usage, and other aspects.

In the past year, among the keywords related to sunscreen in Xiaohongshu notes, “SPF50, high-level sunscreen” had a high interaction rate of 3.51 million, while “lightweight, refreshing, and translucent” had a high interaction rate of 1.43 million. In weather with strong UV rays, users not only pay attention to the sun protection factor but also focus on skin texture. Based on high sun protection and lightweight texture, they also have further demands for refreshing and translucent skin feel.

At the same time, the words “anti-aging” and “deep-layer” appeared frequently, with a high interaction rate of 2.38 million. Some consumers’ sun protection mentality has shifted from surface protection (“anti-tanning”) to deep protection (“anti-photoaging”). Brands need to pay attention to this change and make corresponding content deployment.

Multi-functional products are popular, with “protection, nourishment, repair, and makeup” being pursued simultaneously

According to the survey of sunscreen-related notes, the competition among sunscreen products and efficacy is no longer limited to “sun protection”. In addition to preventing sunburn, waterproofing, and sweat resistance, they also take care of skin nourishment, repair, and makeup.

In the content of sunscreen and skin nourishment, keywords such as “moisturizing, hydrating, whitening, and nourishing” appeared, with “moisturizing” and “hydrating” having interactive volumes of 304.25w and 168.12w, respectively.

In the content of sunscreen and repair, keywords such as “lightening, fading spots, and barrier” appeared, with “lightening” having an interactive volume of 217.05w.

In the content of sunscreen and makeup, keywords such as “base makeup, no-makeup look, and concealing” appeared, with “base makeup” having an interactive volume of 247.07w.

To follow the trend of multi-faceted considerations, brands can try to follow two aspects:

In terms of product research and development, breakthrough innovations can be made in product ingredients, components, and efficacy to achieve multiple effects in one.

In terms of marketing, content deployment can highlight the various functions of the product, or combine corresponding keywords to deploy diversified marketing scenarios (for example, daily sunscreen and skincare routines, sunscreen combined with other products to present a makeup effect, etc.).

Recently, the popular sunscreen brand MISTINE has launched a campaign with their novice KOLs. Their note has been gaining attention by incorporating hot keywords such as “waterproof, sweatproof, whitening, and no-makeup look”. The note has received almost 2000 interactions and its likes are 690.53% higher than the average performance of their novice KOLs, which is an outstanding achievement.

Full-body protection: the popularity of “hard sunscreen” exceeds “soft sunscreen”

Based on the hot words in the comments of sunscreen notes over the past year and the related keywords for sunscreen products in April of this year, “hard” sun protection has become especially popular. “Sunscreen clothes,” “hats,” “sunglasses,” and other items frequently appear in the comment hot words. The search index for “sunscreen clothes” and “sunscreen hats” (344.34w and 288.23w) is higher than that for “sunscreen lotion” (252.09w). Additionally, sunscreen masks, face shields, gloves, sunscreen pants, and sunglasses all appear in the sunscreen product search rankings.

OctoPlus Media believes that nowadays, the demand for sun protection has expanded from the face to the whole body, and consumers are increasingly paying attention to hard sun protection while pursuing both soft and hard sun protection. Relevant brands may take advantage of this trend and research the emerging forces in hard sun protection in recent years to find growth opportunities.

3. Marketing extended to broader scenes. High potential for outdoor, photoelectric beauty

In terms of marketing scenarios, the sun protection market is also showing a diversified development trend. In addition to skincare and makeup-related scenarios, many pan-scenarios have emerged.

The two major scenarios of outdoor activities and photonic beauty have high heat and large growth potential.

With over 227,000 interactions, the popularity of outdoor activities has sparked interest in sun protection.

By screening the content of notes, “outdoor, travel, camping” are among the top 10 popular scene keywords, with an interaction volume of over 2.27 million. In the past year, brands like Dr.Ci:Labo, Shu Uemura, and Avene have posted notes related to urban cycling, summer hiking, and family trips, garnering thousands of likes and becoming popular.

The trend of outdoor and travel has become a popular lifestyle across the country on Xiaohongshu. Brands can seize the convenience and professional characteristics needed for outdoor and travel scenes, and customize targeted sunscreen solutions to impress consumers.

Photonic beauty stimulates the demand for sun protection and creates new market opportunities.

In sun protection-related content, keywords such as “beauty salon, laser mole removal, hair removal, scar removal” stand out, with an interaction volume of up to 145.57w.

As the beauty technology industry develops, people’s acceptance of it has gradually increased. In recent years, the photothermal effect of popular projects can stimulate the generation of melanocytes, making the skin more sensitive to ultraviolet rays, making sun protection a necessity for this group. This year, the outdoor brand Jiaoxia promoted sun hats based on this trend, producing popular articles with over 2000 likes.

OctoPlus Media suggests that brands may pay attention to photonic beauty crowds and industry trends, unlock new marketing scenarios, and explore new growth points.

In conclusion, OctoPlus Media believes that the sunscreen market this summer will be highly competitive, and brands can develop marketing strategies around the core of “upgrading protection and catering to multiple needs.”

Pay attention to consumers’ advanced needs, add to the sun protection factor, and subtract from the feeling on the skin.
Consider deploying marketing efforts from multiple angles such as protection, skin care, repair, and makeup, to reach a wide range of people.
Unlock more potential marketing scenes, and layout outdoor and photoelectric beauty specifically to cover potential consumers.

OctoPlus Media strive to provide brands with more comprehensive, professional, and accurate China marketing services. Contact us with the form below to get more exciting data and more marketing support.