Shows
Branding for Impact with Rosann LingEntering the Asian Beauty Market: Strategies for Success in 2025In this episode of Branding for Impact, host Rosann welcomes beauty expert Allie Rooke, founder of Clean Beauty Asia, to discuss the dynamic beauty market in the Asia-Pacific region. With over 17 years of experience working with renowned brands like Chanel, L'Oreal, and Burberry, Allie shares her insights on the opportunities and challenges faced by beauty brands in Asia. She highlights her expertise in clean and natural products, cruelty-free practices, and cross-border e-commerce, particularly in China. Allie's extensive experience living in various Asian cities equips her with a unique perspective on navigating diverse markets, making this ep...
2025-02-1134 min
Clean Beauty Asia33. China vs South East Asia Ecommerce landscapeLooking back at 2022 it has been a tough year for China
Lockdowns, uncertainty, closed borders all whilst the rest of the world opened up, travelled, met in person
It was hard to watch from the outside and even harder from within
This impacted many businesses – year 3 of not being able to travel in or out but also, more so the negative press coverage of China causing brands to put China on hold or reassess later
This is not how all brands have tackled China – some saw the opportunity to double down and...
2023-01-1834 minClean Beauty Asia32. Premium Chinese hair care brand’s adviceThis episode I talk to the founders Sophy and Joanna, of La Terapia a Chinese premium haircare brand
We hear about their story – why they launched the brands and the pain points that were not met by products on the market.
The difference with Asian hair but that within Asia brands were still not meeting the need.
Two major trends in Chinese hair care are:
1️⃣ Premiumisation – this is still immature, but we are seeing more western brands entering the market
2️⃣Segmentation – shampoo sells 4x conditioner but apart from conditioner consumers are...
2022-10-1936 minClean Beauty Asia31. Chinafication & How Important is it for your Brand?Chinafication is a phenomenon that has been creeping up on us. China is 1/5 of the world’s population so brands are adapting for this market. Since the onset of Covid 19 China has turned increasingly inward. There has been a real – a decoupling
Businesses have been forced to allow their China entities to be more independent.
There are key areas that are increasingly difficult:
👉Data – New regulations
👉Money – flows tightened
👉Products – increased border checks, reduction in Daigous
👉People – flow from international to China, foreigners leaving and Chinese not travelli...
2022-07-2729 min
Clean Beauty Asia30. Gaps in Sephora’s Skincare PortfolioSephora USA is a destination most brands want on their roadmap
Understanding their strategy is very important for many in the Beauty industry
Jennifer Carlsson has taken a step back and done an in-depth and highly informative report into Sephora’s Skincare category.
This 100 page report looks at 3 key areas
1️⃣ Brands
>>> Full list of all Sephora stocked Skincare brands
>>> Listed the brands that have been added and which have been kicked out
>>> Looks at how these brands in Sephora perform on Instagram
...
2022-06-1427 min
Clean Beauty Asia29. K-Beauty’s continued influenceK-Beauty has lost a bit of its shine
Over the past 10 years western consumers have fallen in love with the fast paced, innovative products coming out of Korea
But recently there has been less buzz
However Korea continues to innovate and set Beauty trends across the globe.
Here I talk to Holly Kim from Measure Commerce about the hottest Korean Beauty trends
CLEAN BEAUTY AND VEGAN PRODUCT TRENDS
Clean Beauty continues to be very popular in Korea but now Vegan is the hottest buzz word.
...
2022-05-1125 minClean Beauty Asia28. Top Tips for PR in China - it is differentMost brands I work with are great at PR
They attract a lot of attention in their home markets through a strong PR strategy for FREE
Then they come to China…..
It is so different and this is a real point of frustration that the strategy at home can’t be replicated in China
Here I talk to Nicky Wang from We Red Bridge a PR and marketing agency who work with many International niche beauty brands like Aesop, Fenty, Lime Crime.
The key areas we discuss are:
How...
2022-04-1932 min
Clean Beauty Asia27. Why have Chinese beauty brands not gone global?Hello everyone and welcome to this episode of my interview series.
The rise of Chinese beauty brands in the last few years has been meteoric
But this has been within China and fueled by local consumers wanting to support local brands
What is stopping these brands from global domination?
Here I talk to Lisa Shiqi Yu about her recent thesis looking at exactly this. In this conversation we take apart where the real issues lie.
First reviewing the fundamentals of building a brand:
Supply Chain, product development is no...
2022-03-2222 minClean Beauty Asia26. Importance of having a Chinese name for your brandHello everyone and welcome to this episode of my interview series.
Why does a foreign brand need a Chinese name?
Many brands enter China without a Chinese name
I have worked in the market for over 15 years, initially with big global players who all had their own Chinese names and often nicknames.
More recently working with niche brands entering the market I have got a lot closer to the naming process and wanted to highlight it’s importance with this...
2022-02-2329 minClean Beauty Asia25. NOT JUST BIG BRANDS GET COUNTERFEITED…Hello everyone and welcome to this episode of my interview series.
Today, we’ve got Patrick Rosevear who is an intellectual property lawyer and under cover counterfeit “detective” helping brands solve their counterfeit issues in China.
China has a reputation for fakes this mostly comes from the fashion industry but it is still a big problem for beauty brands as well
WHILST BEAUTY CUSTOMERS DO NOT KNOWINGLY WANT TO PURCHASE FAKES, SOMETIMES IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE
It is worth your while checking out the size of the problem –...
2021-11-2930 minClean Beauty Asia24. CROSS BORDER E-COMMERCE IN CHINAHello everyone and welcome to this episode of my interview series.
Today, we’ve got Ivy Shen, who has been working, operating brands in Cross Border since it started at Azoya who run many multi-brand retailers and international brands in China.
Azoya is a borderless commerce group that helps international brands & retailers expand to the world’s largest e-commerce market: China.
This is a great episode – some of the super interesting topics we cover:
▪️ Where Cross border is heading – it is not going anywhere and has government support
▪️ There is still high demand for...
2021-11-2428 minClean Beauty Asia23. How to keep up with Chinese consumersHello everyone and welcome to this episode of my interview series.
Today, we’ve got Iris Chan, Partner at Digital Luxury Group (DLG) which is a full service digital agency supporting luxury brands, helping them find their luxury consumers. They primarily work with Chinese consumers.
This is a great episode – some of the super interesting topics we cover:
🕵️♀️ Finding them – Start by looking at unprompted, peer to peer conversations social media about your brand, niche or competitors.
Little Red Book and Zhihu are great sources of insight.
👛 The pandemic...
2021-11-0833 minClean Beauty Asia22. CLEAN BEAUTY IN CHINA – A CHINESE BRAND’S POVHello everyone and welcome to this episode of my interview series.
Today, we’ve got Johannes Walch who founded Sober Beauty with his partner Valentine.
Sober Beauty is a pioneer in Chinese Clean Beauty. Johannes and Valentine’s backgrounds are in management consulting and L’Oreal Product development and in 2019 they launched their own Clean Makeup brand in China.
They are passionate about Clean Beauty and optimistic about it’s growth potential in China
This is a great episode – some of the super interesting topics we cover:
💥 Clean Beauty is at a tippi...
2021-10-1219 min
The Green Edit PodcastLaunching Your Beauty Brand In China, Allie Rooke Founder Of Clean Beauty AsiaWelcome to The Green Edit Podcast, your go-to destination for clean, high-performance beauty, hosted by founder & Organic Makeup Artist, Cathy Tolpigin. On this podcast, you’ll hear interviews with brand founders, formulators, beauty innovators and wellness experts. Together we unpack the various definitions of clean, share inspiring brand stories, and cover the latest innovations in the green beauty industry — with a few product recommendations thrown in, of course.Joining us today is Allie Rooke founder of Clean Beauty Asia via a fireside chat held for members of The Green Edit community. The audio isn’t perfect...
2021-10-0527 minClean Beauty Asia21. Opportunities and Threats will inevitably be part of your China JourneyHello everyone and welcome to this episode of my interview series.
Today, we’ve got Lisa Yu from @genuinegerman.
Lisa Yu is a digital beauty native, previously working at L'Oréal China. She now works at Genuine German helping International Brands enter the China Market successfully.
In this interview we discuss the rise of C-beauty – have you heard of HomeFacial Pro? The speed we will see global Chinese beauty brands and how they are developing.
WHAT ARE THE FEW REASONS LISA & I ARE OPTIMISTIC:
Capital has floode...
2021-09-0221 min
Clean Beauty Asia20. MEDICAL BEAUTY, HOLISTIC BEAUTY AND MORE – LATEST SKINCARE TRENDS IN CHINAHello everyone and welcome to this episode of my interview series.
Today, we’ve got Carol Zhou from Shiseido.
Carol Zhou currently heads up Innovation and investment for Shiseido in China. This is a great discussion about the latest trends in Skincare.
Key Highlights
👉 The rise in holistic beauty – beauty foods, supplements and more
👉 Medical Beauty boom still has a long way to go vs. Japan & Korea
👉 Sensitive skin market is increasingly important for care post medical treatment
👉 The importance of experts – dermatologists and...
2021-08-0523 min
Clean Beauty Asia19. Chinese regulatory changes for Beauty - UPDATE with Mette Knudsen from Knudsen&CRCHello everyone and welcome to this episode of my interview series.
Today, we've got Mette Knudsen from Knudsen&CRC.
Mette Knudsen is the CEO of Knudsen&CRC who runs a consultancy supporting brands through the registration process – she shares her on-the-ground experience of the new laws.
This is a great discussion about Animal testing regulation changes in China that came into effect on the 1st of May.
Key highlights
🌟 3 reasons why animal testing would still be required:
1. Efficacy Claims – whitening
2. New Ingredients – to add any in...
2021-06-2225 min
Clean Beauty Asia18. How to create demand for your beauty brand before you enter China with Charlie Gu from Kollective InfluenceHello everyone and welcome to this episode of my interview series.
Today, we've got Charlie Gu from Kollective Influence.
Charlie Gu is the Founder of Kollective influence. A marketing agency that focuses on helping brands reach Overseas Chinese Consumers mainly through working with Chinese influencers in the US and Canada. Is your business a beauty brand and wants to operate in China? Are you looking to build demand in China prior to market entry?
Create consumer demand for your brand in China BEFORE you enter.
Don’t just dive straight into the wor...
2021-06-0426 min
Clean Beauty Asia17 Pain Points Solved with Data Analytics with German Torrado from Genetisis E-CommerceGerman Torrado is the managing director of Genetisis E-commerce which focuses on supporting International brands by using their unique data analytics model. Genetisis use multiple sources of data to help shape the strategies for E-commerce operations and Digital Marketing activities in China in real time.
Thank you so much German for sharing your knowledge here at Clean Beauty Asia.
Is data informing your market decisions in China?
Gone are the days of investing and easily getting a great return. Now everything a brand does needs to be optimized.
Data is...
2021-05-1826 min
Clean Beauty Asia16 - Partner structures for China entry with Charlotte Mantoux from LEAF law firmWant to know what to watch out for when negotiating with a distribution partner in China?
In this interview I talk to Charlotte Mantoux a partner from LEAF law firm. LEAF specialise in Mergers and Acquisitions supporting clients with their China market entry.
Charlotte has a lot of experience helping brands navigate the legal side of partner agreements.
Her first piece of advice BEFORE you do anything – Protect your IP.
We look at 3 types of structures to enter the China market:
Distribution
Incubation
Trade partners
TRADITIONAL DI...
2021-04-0624 min
Clean Beauty Asia15 - Animal testing changes discussion with Mark SchaubMark Schaub and I discuss the details of the updated regulations for cosmetics in China & some key areas of concern:
1. A local responsible agent. A lot more responsibility is being placed on this party and with the unknowns of how this will play out means that brands may find it harder to find an independent responsible agent willing to take on this risk.
2. New Ingredients - the level of information that will need to be supplied and the IP issues associated
3. The QMS (equivalent of a GMP) from your manufacturer certified by your...
2021-04-0217 min
Clean Beauty Asia14 - Indie brands and the Chinese market with Rob RobertsonWant to launch your beauty brand in China but keep visibility and control?
In this interview I talk to Rob Robertson. He runs Star Brands Asia, they are a total brand partner for China.
They focus on 4D brand creation:
All channels – offline as well as offline,
Functional – legal, back office, sales force management, online TP services etc
Consumer Journey – moving consumers from awareness to loyalty
Changes – partner brands on the journey. Not just Tmall but look holistically at the long term strategy.
Here are some of the fascinating topics w...
2021-03-3029 min
Clean Beauty Asia13 - China Beauty TrendsHere I talk to Holly Kim, from Measure China – Measure China helps brands make Data based decisions to accelerate their growth in China.
We talk about a wide variety of topics from C-Beauty, to emerge trends that international brands can capitalise on.
1️⃣Premium Skincare continues to grow exponentially +40% yoy in China and international brands dominate here
2️⃣ Clean Beauty is growing but still remains niche. Consumers are looking for products that don’t contain certain ingredients like Fragrance and alcohol. Cleansing, masks and acne products are the most popular for Clean Beauty.
3️⃣ C-Beauty popular...
2021-03-1626 min
Clean Beauty Asia12 - Why brands struggle in China?Do you want to avoid making mistakes you haven’t made yet?
I am sure you do.
Josh Gardner has been operating International brands in China for many years and he is king of an example!
In this episode of my interview series we cover A LOT of ground but two highlights:
1️⃣ 3 tips for working with distributors
⏩ TRADEMARK: Your English and Chinese brand name ➕ any nicknames that the Chinese have given you!
⏩ EXCLUSIVITY: Very sticky relationship, hard to get out of. Take time to make the decision ! Demand transparency
2021-02-1642 min
Clean Beauty Asia11 - Maximise your investment on SocialDo you wonder how to manage your social media in China?
It can be pretty daunting:
All the channels are different 🤯
There are soooo many of them & new ones launching all the time 😳
Here I talk to Olivia Plotnick, founder of social media agency - Wai Social about how to manage this complexity for smaller brands entering China.
She gives lots of great tips. Here are a few highlights:
1️⃣Who is your target. This is crucial to narrow down to the most impactful channels for your brand
2️⃣...
2021-01-2923 min
Clean Beauty Asia10 - Maximise investment and impact for smaller brandsThis episode of the Clean Beauty Asia interview series is with George Henein - head of business development at IMS, a leading digital transformation agency in China.
The focus of the interview is IMS’ new health and wellness platform Orghive.
It gives international brands in Beauty, health food and wellness quick access to targeted Chinese consumers.
What is Orghive?
Orghive is a Social & Content platform. It’s advantages:
✅ Strong purpose to help the Chinese make better, healthier, more informed lifestyle choices
✅Curated content and brand selection
✅Gathering...
2021-01-2223 min
Clean Beauty Asia09 - Making China e-commerce more accessible for Beauty SMEsHere I am talking to Jack Porteous from Samarkand Global. Jack is Samarkand’s Client service director. He previously worked at the Department of International Trade for the UK government and for the China British Business council. So has a wealth of experience.
Samarkand have offices in the UK & China and their mission is “To make Chinese eCommerce as easy as selling on your own .com”
We covered a range of topics starting from:
What are the 3 biggest hurdles for foreign Beauty brands entering China:
Partners
Competition
Animal testing
Firstl...
2020-12-2232 min
Clean Beauty Asia08 - Key tips for trademarks in China with Mark SchaubThis interview is with Mark Schaub from the law firm King & Wood Mallesons. We discuss Trademarking your brand in China, animal testing regulations and trends in the Chinese beauty market.
Mark has extensive experience with the China market and has worked with numerous Beauty brands on their market entry.
The first area we discuss is trademarking for China and why it is important:
🎯 China is a first to file system vs. most western markets where it is a first to use
🎯 Relatively inexpensive to file around 700 USD per category/class
🎯It...
2020-12-1514 min
Clean Beauty Asia07 - Opportunity in Ingestible Beauty & Male skincare in China’s Beauty market with Michael NorrisThis week I am talking to Michael Norris from AgencyChina. Michael is a research and strategy manager, he and his team spend a lot of their time conducting fieldwork across China observing first-hand consumer behaviour and preferences.
This gives him a rare and highly valuable insight into the way many consumer sub-sets think and act.
A few insights that we covered:
GENERAL
💡The extending of the beauty category – beauty from inside out, wellness, gadgets to keep your products at the perfect temperatures
💡Mask factor – Needs to help resolve/avoid maskne (mas...
2020-12-0816 min
Clean Beauty Asia06 - Beauty China entry - Target Chinese at home firstThis interview is with Byron Constable of Avenue 51. Avenue51 is an online retail solution for selling in China used by more than 100 British brands including Waitrose, Aspinal of London and the beauty brand ThisWorks.
Byron is working on a new project to make entry to China more accessible for smaller beauty brands called 10.10.
The 10.10 project is aimed at brands who want to either test Chinese consumers’ receptiveness to their products or who want to start building buzz as part of their market entry to China.
Avenue51 has a database of 40,000 Chinese consumers who ha...
2020-11-2617 min
Clean Beauty Asia05 - How to succeed on Chinese Social Media with Elisa Harca of Red Ant digital agencyThis interview is with Elisa Harca of Red Ant digital agency. We talk about lots of different topics from which social channel should beauty brands focus on to a key trend they see brands being able to leverage locally which is the “Tribalisation” of Beauty.
In just under 30 mins we packed a lot in! 10 different sections with lots of fabulous tips and tricks that brands in China should look at implementing.
1. SOCIAL NETWORK FOR BEAUTY - LITTLE RED BOOK
2. THREE TIPS FOR LOCALISATION
3. ORGANIC REACH
4. SEEDING APPROACH
5. DAIG...
2020-11-0527 min
Clean Beauty Asia04 - Interview with Ker Zheng from Azoya: Is Tmall your best choice?Here I talk to Ker Zheng from Azoya about the different marketplace options that are available for Beauty brands doing Cross Border e-commerce in China. We take a deep dive into the biggest and best known platform Tmall Global.
In this video we talk about Tmall as well as the other key marketplace platforms to help you make a decision on what fits your brand best.
A few points going for Tmall that Ker points out are:
📌 It’s the largest cross border dedicated platform
📌 It has the broadest appeal in terms of c...
2020-10-2922 min
Clean Beauty Asia03 - How to tap into Chinese in your market with Jennifer Spark of Spark communicationThis is part of a video series for #IndieBeauty brands to educate yourselves on operating within the Asian region.
This is designed for Small to Medium sized 💄Beauty brands expanding in Asia.
The first series is focused on #China Cross Border e-commerce. This interview is with Jennifer Spark of Spark communication. An agency based in Australia dedicated to help brands tap into the local Chinese in Australia to help launch brand awareness before moving to mainland China market.
In this video we cover a series of topics - all extremely useful for brands in Ch...
2020-10-2218 min
Clean Beauty Asia02 - How to find the right Trade Partner with Michael Simonet from Qingdao AleaFor small to medium beauty brands coming into China through Cross Border E-Commerce your main choice is a distributor or a trade partner.
Here I talk to Michael Simonet from Qingdao Alea about being a trade partner, finding the right one for your brand and what it takes to succeed.
Michael outlines his process for deciding to work🤝 with new brands including market research, forecasting and launch strategy✍️.
We cover a series of topics:
1) WHAT IS A TP?
2) FINDING THE RIGHT TP – HONESTY, REALISTIC FORECASTS
3) CBEC STEP 1 & DISTRIBUTOR...
2020-10-2221 min
Clean Beauty Asia01 - Lucy Zhang from Feelunique - Clean Beauty Asia Interview SeriesThis is part of a video series for #IndieBeauty brands to educate yourselves on operating within the Asian region.
This is designed for Small to Medium sized 💄Beauty brands expanding in Asia.
The first series is focused on #China Cross Border e-commerce. This first interview is with @LucyZhang of @Feelunique, the European Beauty E-retailer.
In this video we cover a series of topics - all extremely useful for brands in China or considering entering the China market. Lucy comes with a strong background understanding both the brand and the retailer sides of the busin...
2020-10-2219 min
Green Beauty Conversations by Formula BotanicaEP42. Breaking into the Natural Beauty Market in AsiaIt seems that barely a week goes by without beauty industry headlines covering the latest Asian beauty trends or the meteoric growth of the cosmetics' spending in Asia, including also the rise of the natural beauty market. Cosmetics Business commented in early 2019 that online beauty sales were set to help Asia-Pacific outpace North America as global cosmetics' leader: "Growing e-commerce and online shopping will shift the country leading the biggest beauty spends and change the nation of 'beauty obsessed". While Cosmetics Design Asia noted that the demand for premium and prestige global beauty brands, particularly in China, is continuing...
2019-09-0338 min
Hong Kong Confidential85| Clean CosmeticsAllie Rooke discovered the benefits of clean cosmetics and living a clean lifestyle when she was going through her fertility journey. She found a natural fertility clinic in Australia and that was the turning point in her journey to become a mother and she re-evaluated how she was living her life and the products that she was using. Allie explains how mainstream cosmetics can disrupt the endocrine system on our bodies and the effects that this can have on our health and wellbeing. She began with a clean cosmetics blog and eventually launched her own clean cosmetics consultancy business ‘My...
2019-04-1335 min