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Jul 25, 2023

HEBE BEAUTY: Pioneering Beauty Industry in Emerging Markets

SINGAPORE, Sept. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With the beauty economy shifting into

SINGAPORE, Sept. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With the beauty economy shifting into a trend of rigid demand, beauty markets are officially catching up with its booming time. As the latest report published by MINTEL, a marketing intelligence agency estimated, the market value of South East Asia is expected to reach over＄30,00 billion and it is listed as the Future Market competition among the beauty players. Faced with such a complex market environment where risks and benefits coexist, HEBE BEAUTY seems to have gained its unique advantages to pioneer in the emerging market, especially in Southeastern Asia.

Founded in 2018, HEBE BEAUTY is an international cosmetics company that aims to provide global consumers with "high-quality, skin-empowered and well-designed" beauty products.

As a diversified international beauty platform, the group adheres to the strategy of "integration of multi-brand R&D and operation", and its incubation includes a matrix of diversified brands such as Y.O.U, Glamfix, barenbliss, dazzle me, lavojoy, etc., covering multiple categories, not only limited in makeup, skincare, and personal care.

It is worth noting that the majority of HEBE BEAUTY's brands picked Southeastern Asia as the first stop before going global. And their performance is remarkable. In the sales market, since it entered Indonesia with its first brand -- Y.O.U at the end of 2018, HEBE BEAUTY has won the Best New Brand Award of Guardian Indonesia in 2019 and the two consecutive Guardian Awards for the fastest growing brand in terms of sales, and the only Top Sale Brand in both makeup and skincare list 2020 on Shopee, the e-commerce giant in Southeast Asia. Just in June, Y.O.U announced Kim Soo Hyun, a highly-acclaimed actor in Korea starring in hit shows like My Love From The Star and It's Okay Not to be Okay as Asia-pacific brand ambassador. And the True Beauty Inside Cushion from barenbliss ranked No.2 in cushion category sales in Shopee. In the financing market, HEBE BEAUTY has announced the closing of a $40 million Series C funding led by Hidden Hills Capital and followed by SIG, Gaorong Capital, ATM Capital, eWTP, and M31 Capital, with Gaorong Capital and ATM Capital participating in consecutive rounds. Taihe Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor. So far, HEBE BEAUTY has raised a total of $70 million in financing.

Rome wasn't built in a day. It is necessary to flip hype and take a closer look at HEBE BEAUTY. The first business moat for HEBE BEAUTY is its Dual integration of online and offline channels.

A perfect storm of demographics, social media, and radical changes in consumer attitudes toward shopping is forcing the beauty and personal care industry to play by a new set of rules. In this hybrid trend shifting, HEBE BEAUTY constructed on its creative e-commerce and digital sales channel. In the first half of this year, brands under the HEBE BEAUTY put great efforts into online marketing. For the strategies of targeting Gen Z, lots of context-based videos were carefully crafted and uploaded on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Besides those "homemade" content, the brands also embrace the co-built content with local beauty influencers when launching new products. This way, brands under HEBE BEAUTY quickly obtained overseas traffic and improved marketing placement efficiency. In addition, using trend search tools and real-time refinement to capture users' dynamic information and make personalized flow recommendations through algorithmic recommendations is another sophisticated method for HEBE BEAUTY to stand out among others. All these methods work together to boost online sales largely, especially on its brands' Shopee official store and Tiktok shop. The excellent online performance finally accounted for 25% of total sales.

On the other hand, although digital disruption has brought changes to retail and the beauty industry, physical retail still matters for many consumers still prefer to buy their beauty products offline through physical experiences. Testing out products such as feel texture, smell scent in real life is still considered more trustworthy. HEBE BEAUTY knew it and took action swiftly. To better fit into the local, once entering the Southeastern Asia market, HEBE BEAUTY adopted the combination of "International core team + local operation team". The International core team accurately grasps the core values of the brand and creates an exclusive visual image while the local operation teams communicate directly with the consumers to help the core team better understand their consumption habits and shopping preferences. Two teams work harmoniously to make HEBE BEAUTY sprouting in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and its products entering over 40,000 brick stores all around Southeastern Asia.

The second business moat for HEBE BEAUTY is constructed on the brand layout. HEBE BEAUTY has incubated a diverse portfolio of brands including Y.O.U, barenbliss, Glamfix, Dazzle Me and lavojoy to meet diversified needs from the emerging market. As the saying goes, you cannot be everything to everyone, you need to pick a niche. These brands are established on the basis of insights and analysis from the founding team who have years of experience in the industry. Y.O.U is the brand featuring bio-cosmetics, while barenbliss focuses on the k-beauty and Dazzle Me emphasizes the self-identity of Gen Z. Glamfix produces professional beauty tools and lavojoy wants to invite people to a joyful and healing personal care experience. HEBE BEAUTY's achievements have proven that a multiple-brand strategy is a way to get a large piece of the pie.

Localization is always the top topic that cannot get around when talking about HEBE BEAUTY. Therefore, the third business moat for HEBE BEAUTY is the localized product. Backed in 2019, it made a big decision to move its product team to Indonesia to get more know about the local market. In this process, HEBE BEAUTY invited Tiktok kols to test its new products before officially launching so as to adjust to the local people's needs. To further differentiate from the market, HEBE BEAUTY recently announced with 3INS, a professional cosmetic OEM/ODM company based in Guangdong Province of China, to establish a new manufacturing plant in Indonesia. This is the first time the company has joined forces with the supply chain in a new journey into Southeast Asia. One of the biggest benefits of doing so is that its brands will have exclusive HALAL certification. As the Muslim population in Indonesia is expected to grow at a percent rate twice that of the rest of the world by 2050, halal cosmetics will still be at the center of the stage in Indonesia. It is the strategic step for HEBE BEAUTY to create a real localized supply chain that both respects the Muslim culture and meets BPOM's stringent standards for beauty products.

HEBE is derived from the abbreviation of "Health & Beauty", and it is HEBE BEAUTY's mission to be an international beauty company that is "healthy and enduring". In emerging markets, HEBE BEAUTY is now continuously developing the boundaries of beauty and making beauty within reach worldwide. Still, Southeastern Asia is the market for HEBE BEAUTY to plow deeper, but it will not be the final stop. From localization to globalization, there is a long road to go, HEBE BEAUTY is ready to embark on the journey.

SOURCE HEBE BEAUTY