A Global Vegan and Eco Wave: Vegan Cosmetics Become Market Darlings (with Hengbang / Baigu Cases)

A global vegan and eco wave is rising, and vegan cosmetics become market darlings

In today''s diverse culture, vegetarianism has long spread from the single dimension of "eating" to every aspect of our lives. As calls to address environmental pollution and protect animals grow ever louder, kind consumption and ethical consumption are becoming a global trend, and vegan cosmetics are also growing rapidly.

In South Korea, "vegan" cosmetics have quietly extended from the skincare field into the broad color-cosmetics market, winning the favor of more and more color-cosmetics manufacturers, distributors, and consumers.

Market research shows that even those who are not devotees of vegetarianism will, when buying cosmetics, carefully check whether the product ingredients and raw materials contain animal-derived components and whether animal testing was conducted - and consumers are even more sensitive about skincare products they personally apply.

We can clearly define what is vegetarian in the food field, but what about vegan cosmetics? Beyond the usual requirements of containing no animal-derived ingredients and undergoing no animal testing, not using milk, honey, or beeswax and using only plant-based raw materials is also one of the keys to certifying vegan cosmetics.

According to data from the US market research firm Grand View Research, the global vegan cosmetics market has an average annual growth rate of more than 6%, and is projected to reach USD 20.8 billion by 2025.

In line with this trend, many cosmetics brands have successively launched their own vegan cosmetics. These market darlings have either passed the Vegan certification of the Korea Vegan Certification Institute, or passed the strict standards and reviews of the EU vegetarian society''s V-Label, France''s EVE, the Australian Vegan society, and others.

The facial-mask fabric of Hangzhou Hengbang Industrial Co., Ltd. obtained vegan certification at SINOQUAL this year

The vegan-certification bottleneck for color cosmetics has also broken through under continuous research and market drive. Enterprises emphasizing vegan color cosmetics are also on the rise, launching their own vegan color cosmetics one after another to seize the market.

Korea Kolmar''s 10 color-cosmetics products, including cushion foundation, sunscreen, pressed powder, and mascara, recently obtained Vegan certification, and the company plans to launch "customized" products in the future according to customer needs and trends, actively responding to the domestic and global markets.

Dear Dahlia is a brand that excludes animal testing and animal-derived raw materials in pursuit of ethical consumption, and is a highly representative vegan beauty brand, launching various color-cosmetics products containing dahlia extract and ECOCERT organic-certified raw materials, which has raised its visibility.

UNLEASHIA has fully launched a PETA-certified "Vegan & Cruelty Free" color-cosmetics brand that uses no animal-derived raw materials and opposes animal testing. It is very popular in markets such as mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, the US, and the Middle East, and recently also entered CHICOR.

At an information-exchange meeting jointly held by the Korea Beauty Industry Trade Association and the Cosmetics Industry ICC of Daejeon University, Hwang Yeonghui, director of the Vegan Certification Institute, stated through a seminar titled "Understanding Vegan Certification": "The reasons for pursuing vegetarianism are animal welfare, environmental protection, health, and wellness, so vegetarianism is rising from a subculture to a mainstream culture, and the vegan market is growing explosively, with cosmetics and food at its core."

It is foreseeable that as the world''s attention to the environment and awareness of vegetarianism continue to rise, vegan cosmetics will surely occupy a place in future fashion trends! To open up the global market, enterprises should fully consider the vegan-certification dimension.

The meal-replacement powder (instant cereal powder) product series of Heilongjiang Baigu Food Co., Ltd. obtained vegan certification at SINOQUAL

SINOQUAL, as the first organization in China to focus on promoting and operating international vegan certification, has helped some domestic food, textile, and other export enterprises obtain well-known European and Australian international vegan certifications. At the same time, SINOQUAL is also discussing a Vegan China strategic cooperation plan with leading domestic big-health enterprises. As a people with rich vegetarian ingredients and traditional folk vegetarian dietary habits, we believe more landmark Chinese vegetarian brands will be born in the future, going abroad and toward the world.