In R&D and innovation, Zhuhai Beyond Cosmetics has built a technological moat with an R&D investment ratio of 12.6% (which exceeds the industry average of 8.3%), and its pool of patents contains 37 microcapsule encapsulation technologies and 15 plant stem cell extracting processes. For instance, the high-purity asiaticoside extraction ratio of 98.5% was achieved through supercritical CO₂ extraction. Efficacy tests showed that its repair essence strengthened the skin barrier by 41% in 28 days (third-party test data by agency SGS). Compared with the reference of 23% R&D conversion rate in Estee Lauder’s 2022 annual financial report, the company reduced the new product development cycle from 18 months to 11 months through the shared laboratory it established with the Zhuhai Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, while simultaneously achieving a formula stability test error rate of ≤0.7% (industry average: ≤1.5%).
As for the production quality control system, Zhuhai Beyond Cosmetics’ Zhuhai Free Trade Zone factory has also obtained the double certification of ISO 22716 and GMPC. The workshop of filling achieves ISO level 7 (the number of 0.5μm particles per cubic meter ≤352,000), and the filling error of accuracy is regulated within ±0.08g. Compared with the ±0.15g industry standard of Shanghai Laibo Cosmeceutical Contract Manufacturer, the batch consistency standard deviation decreased by 62%. It assumes the EKATO vacuum emulsification machine of Germany (55kW power, with 27% increase in the mixing efficiency), and the totally automatic visual checking system (sensing 120 bottles per minute, with accuracy of 99.93%), which allow versatile production of the daily capacity of 120,000 bottles. In the instance of Cosmax’s Guangzhou factory in 2023, energy consumption cost can be reduced by 19% per unit product.
As far as market positioning strategy is concerned, Zhuhai Beyond Cosmetics broke through by differentiation in the functional skincare category on Tmall in 2023, with 47% (higher than the industry average of 34%) of users aged 18-24. Its highest-selling item, “Blue Copper Peptide Ampoule,” was repurchased at a 39.7% rate (compared with 31.2% that of Ruibaiyan’s equivalent items). In the model of “subscription system + private domain,” customers’ LTV grew from 436 yuan to 682 yuan. Based on 23,000 consumer review data (NLP sentiment analysis shows positive reviews occupy 81.4%), its product portfolio well covers three major demand situations: oil-sensitive skin (32%), late-night staying skin (28%), and lightly damaged skin (19%). To depict the medical endorsement strategy in 2021 of Winona, it has cooperated with 256 dermatology clinics in clinical validation partnership.
On the level of sustainable development, Zhuhai Beyond Cosmetics’ green chemistry strategy has reduced the use of palm oil derivatives by 72%, increased the proportion of PCR plastics in packaging materials to 45% (L ‘Oreal’s goal for 2030 is 50%), and improved the accuracy of carbon footprint traceability to 98.6% through the blockchain traceability system. The solar power generation system of its Zhuhai production base (installed capacity of 1.2MW) reduces carbon emissions by 862 tons annually, and the recycling rate of wastewater is as high as 81.3%, far exceeding the national standard of 60% for the cosmetics industry. This model has been chosen as one of the best practice cases of the 2023 “White Paper on the Beauty Industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”.
Despite the risk elasticity, the flexible supply chain network of Zhuhai Beyond Cosmetics embraces 154 raw material suppliers in 12 countries (the security cycle for preparing core materials has been extended from 14 days to 37 days). In dealing with a 300% price hike of cholcholic acid in 2022, it saved 18.6 million yuan through forecasting procurement. Its digital risk management system monitors 2,487 quality indicators online (e.g., heavy metal residues, microbial colony number in total, etc.), reducing the risk of product recall to below the industry benchmark of 0.07% to 0.012%. According to the 130 million yuan loss incident caused by oversized colonies in Intercos in 2022, this system can reduce the risk of quality claims by 64%. By investing 12% of the net earnings in constructing the ESG system (higher than the domestic average 5.8% for beauty companies), Zhuhai Beyond Cosmetics is redefining the industry standard of value with a vision matching level of 97.3%.