Huaxizi, also known as Florasis, a Chinese beauty brand with cultural and aesthetic attributes, continues to increase research and development and smart manufacturing efforts, as the domestic cosmetics sector becomes more high-end and technology-driven.

Like many other industries, expanding research and development while embracing the application of innovative technologies have become important foundations on which Chinese cosmetics brands can enhance their international competitiveness.

The Zhejiang province-based company built a smart factory in its home city of Hangzhou and put it into operation last year. With seven digital production lines, the annual production capacity of the plant is about 50 million pieces of makeup products, including skincare products and powder makeup.

"Intelligent manufacturing has become the core engine that drives high-quality development. The factory helps promote the transformation and upgrading of the domestic cosmetics manufacturing industry toward more high-end, intelligent and green growth," said Zhang Dayong, vice-president of EastGarden Cosmetics Group, the parent company of Florasis.

Florasis said smart manufacturing mainly relies on the collaborative application of digital management, emerging artificial intelligence technologies and automated equipment. For the application of AI technologies, Florasis connects to the Deep-Seek model to achieve process simulation. With intelligent vision technologies, the factory's production lines have achieved automatic recognition and elimination of defective products.

In addition, the smart factory uses renewable energy and has a paperless production system in place to achieve sustainable green production. For example, the distributed photovoltaic power system on the rooftop of the factory utilizes solar energy to generate power and can effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 2,500 metric tons a year, Florasis said.

Domestic beauty brands have been focusing on technological research and development and exploring the unique value of Chinese ingredients. Those brands are increasingly moving toward the mid- to high-end of the value chain.

"Fueled by the advancement of science and technologies, China's cosmetics sector is rapidly adapting to new trends, reshaping itself and seizing new business opportunities," said Yan Jiangying, chairman of the China Association of Fragrance Flavor and Cosmetic Industries.

In the past few years, an increasing number of Chinese brands with local cultural attributes and innovative vibes have expanded their presence overseas, including domestic beauty brands Proya, Judydoll and Perfect Diary.

Florasis launched a new flagship store in Tokyo in January, following the company's opening of a counter at a department store in Paris late last year. The counter made it the only Chinese beauty brand to operate a physical shop in Europe.

Meanwhile, driven by the booming growth of cross-border e-commerce, domestic beauty products have gained a broader share of the international market via exports.

In 2024, the total export value of Chinese cosmetics reached 36.91 billion yuan ($5.12 billion), growing 14.11 percent year-on-year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

The main recipient countries of China's exported beauty products were the United States, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, the Netherlands and South Korea. The US was the largest export market for Chinese cosmetics, with the export value reaching 7.9 billion yuan last year.