As of now, multiple domestic beauty brands have released their first-half performance reports. Proya, Shanghai Jahwa, Maogeping Cosmetics, and LaQua Group concluded the first half with double growth in both revenue and net profit. However, Betaine and Bloomage BioTechnology continue to struggle with growth challenges, while Yatsen Holding Limited still hovers on the edge of losses... presenting a mixed picture of success and struggle.

As the traffic dividend period fades, the challenges facing domestic beauty brands have surfaced. Multi-brand strategies, premiumization, overseas expansion... beauty brands are deploying various tactics, as they clearly understand that with domestic beauty market competition entering the second half, whoever finds the breakthrough solution first will gain an advantage in the upcoming competition.

**Maogeping Shows Highest Net Profit Growth, Yatsen Continues Losses**

From a pure performance perspective, Shanghai Jahwa's first half can be described as impressive. In the first half of 2025, Shanghai Jahwa achieved revenue of 4.108 billion yuan, up 17.3% year-over-year, and net profit of 524 million yuan, up 30.65% year-over-year. Its main brand Herborist supported the majority of this performance.

Maogeping Cosmetics and LaQua Group also performed well in the first half. According to financial reports, Maogeping achieved revenue of 2.588 billion yuan in the first half, up 31.3% year-over-year, and net profit of 670 million yuan, up 36.1% year-over-year. LaQua Group achieved revenue of 2.5 billion yuan in the first half, up 9.02% year-over-year, and net profit of 123 million yuan, up 16.54% year-over-year. Compared to the same period last year, LaQua Group reversed its net profit decline.

Compared to the growth rates of the above beauty brands, domestic beauty leader Proya's first half appeared "moderate." In the first half, Proya achieved operating revenue of 5.362 billion yuan, up 7.21% year-over-year, and net profit of 799 million yuan, up 13.8% year-over-year. However, compared to previous years' performance, Proya's revenue and net profit growth rates show a gradually slowing trend.

Some celebrate while others worry. In the first half of 2025, Betaine, Yatsen Holding Limited, and Bloomage BioTechnology remained trapped in growth difficulties. According to financial reports, in the first half, Betaine achieved operating revenue of 2.372 billion yuan, down 15.43% year-over-year, and net profit of 247 million yuan, down 49.01% year-over-year. Yatsen Holding Limited achieved revenue of 1.92 billion yuan, up 22.48% year-over-year, but recorded a net loss of 22.97 million yuan, though narrowed compared to the same period last year.

Bloomage BioTechnology, whose functional skincare business accounts for over 40% of revenue, delivered what was called its worst half-year financial report, with revenue down 19.57% year-over-year to 2.261 billion yuan and net profit down 35.38% to 221 million yuan. Its skincare business achieved revenue of 912 million yuan, down 33.97% year-over-year.

Betaine Group's PR Director Zhong Wei explained that in the first half, against the backdrop of overall industry transformation and intensified competition, the company proactively advanced strategic adjustments and operational optimization, focusing on high-value products and high-quality growth, and temporarily reduced inefficient promotions and resource investment. While this strategy had some impact on short-term revenue, it successfully drove steady improvement in gross margin and significant improvement in operating cash flow, with continuous optimization of inventory and asset structure, significantly enhancing operational resilience and health.

A representative from Yatsen Holding Limited stated that the group continues to promote strategic transformation, adhering to an "innovation-driven" growth logic, continuously optimizing category structure through R&D innovation, and enhancing overall innovation capability and product competitiveness. So far, multi-brand collaborative innovation has been achieved, driving steady growth in group performance.

Senior beauty commentator and founder of Meiyun Space E-commerce Bai Yunhu noted that behind the slowdown and decline in domestic beauty performance, on one hand, the overall growth rate of the cosmetics industry segment faces deceleration. On the other hand, intensified competition among leading companies and market brands means the entire cosmetics market, including skincare and makeup, faces competition for users and product marketing.

**Betaine Pursues Premium and Multi-brand Strategies, Shanghai Jahwa Falls into "Price War"?**

When carefully examining each company's financial reports, it's not difficult to find a common characteristic in the domestic beauty industry—the era of high marketing and high growth is becoming a thing of the past. Meanwhile, brands face a common question: how to grow after traffic dividends disappear.

Around 2021, domestic beauty was in a period where marketing investment would yield substantial returns. That year, Betaine's revenue and net profit grew over 50%; Proya's revenue and net profit growth exceeded 20%; Shanghai Jahwa's net profit growth exceeded 60%. During this period, high marketing became a focal point of discussion for domestic beauty brands.

However, as traffic dividends faded in recent years, the challenges facing domestic beauty companies have surfaced. Betaine fell into growth difficulties, Yatsen Holding Limited continued losses, Bloomage BioTechnology's functional business declined repeatedly, Proya's growth slowed... Companies understand market changes best. Beauty companies now clearly know that to continue growing, they must look at strategic planning beyond marketing.

Multi-brand development is one of Proya's strategies, leading the industry to frequently discuss whether it's replicating Anta's model. In recent years, Proya has successively acquired makeup brand Caitang, Spanish brand Saint Graal, care brand "Off&Relax," high-efficacy skincare brand "CORRECTORS," and expanded into medical devices with medical dressings. When its cultivated second brand Caitang became sufficient to support performance growth (Caitang's revenue contribution exceeds 10%), and overall performance scale maintained its position as domestic beauty leader, Proya is building moats through multi-brand strategy.

LaQua Group focuses more energy on premium positioning. In recent years, recognizing that online growth as a Taobao brand had peaked, LaQua Group began premium transformation, successively acquiring French premium brand Ysaiden, French mid-to-high-end brand PierAuge, and controlling stake in American luxury skincare brand ReVive, forming a premium beauty lineup centered on Ysaiden, PA, and RV.

Betaine simultaneously pursues both multi-brand and premium strategies. Zhong Wei stated that the company has built a clear multi-brand matrix and is gradually releasing synergistic effects. Besides main brand Winona, premium anti-aging brand AikeMan achieved 93.9% year-over-year revenue growth, Winona Baby maintains leading growth in the infant skincare segment, and brands like Bevotin are steadily advancing in their respective niche markets. In the second half, the company will continue adhering to dual-wheel drive of internal incubation and external expansion, implementing differentiated resource allocation and cultivation strategies based on each brand's development stage, focusing on strengthening high-potential segments like premium anti-aging and infant skincare, and continuously improving brand ecosystem and business boundaries.

Shanghai Jahwa found its breakthrough in the affordable market by leveraging price advantages. Herborist's 399-yuan low-price sets dominated Douyin channels, with the brand achieving revenue of 3.344 billion yuan in the first half, up 14.3% year-over-year, accounting for over 80% of revenue and supporting Shanghai Jahwa's high growth. However, this also led Shanghai Jahwa into "price war" controversy.

According to Zhou Ting, Dean of Yaoker Research Institute, low-price competition has little subsequent development potential. As consumers become increasingly smart and rational, companies' costs of obtaining sales through traffic will increase dramatically, lacking sustainability.

**Expanding Overseas Markets, Participating in Global Competition**

Whether multi-brand or premiumization, domestic beauty brands share a common direction—seeking overseas growth opportunities.

Recently, Proya announced plans to issue overseas-listed shares (H shares) and list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange main board. Proya stated in its announcement that this move aims to accelerate the company's internationalization strategy and overseas business development, enhancing overseas financing capabilities. In May this year, Proya founder Hou Juncheng announced at the annual shareholders' meeting that overseas M&A would be launched through the Paris subsidiary, focusing on infant care, fragrance, and men's skincare segments.

In Bai Yunhu's view, for Proya, globalization is the optimal path to achieve its "double 10" strategy and a necessary journey. Most international beauty groups have already validated this successful model. For rising Chinese beauty companies, besides occupying dominant positions in the domestic market, participating in global competition is an inevitable choice for companies to grow stronger.

Betaine has also continuously increased overseas market expansion in recent years. Zhong Wei stated that the company has systematically established regional headquarters in Thailand and other regions, conducting product registration, channel construction, and localized operations. Products have gradually entered local mainstream KA, medical beauty clinics, and other retail channels, initially building brand awareness through social media platforms. Sales have also steadily commenced at Mannings stores in Hong Kong and Macau.

In May 2024, Yatsen Holding Limited invested over 80 million yuan to officially open the Yatsen Global Innovation R&D Center in Shanghai. Additionally, a Yatsen representative revealed: "Perfect Diary launched overseas business in 2020, landing on Southeast Asia's largest e-commerce platform Shopee. In 2022, Perfect Diary launched in the Japanese market and entered offline beauty collection stores in 2023, while simultaneously developing the North American market."

LaQua Group has also stated that the company has initially achieved global expansion, including brand globalization, R&D and supply chain globalization, market and channel globalization, and organizational capability globalization, constructing a new label as an "emerging luxury beauty brand management group" with preliminary global reach.

"Compared to global international beauty groups like L'Oréal, the biggest challenge facing domestic beauty brands is 'insufficient strategic brand structuring' and 'low brand user value.' This requires strengthening 'brand positioning and user value enhancement.' Capital investment, M&A, and brand user operations will become major development directions for domestic beauty brands in coming years," Bai Yunhu believes.