Charting distinctive path for beauty brands

The building's "vertical ecosystem" has rapidly attracted beauty and wellness companies to the industrial park. Since its opening in April, Jiangnan Beauty Bay has brought in 58 enterprises, achieved an occupancy rate of over 70 percent and created over 400 jobs, said Guo Zhilong, general manager of the park.

In terms of this year's development goals, Jiangnan Beauty Bay is expected to exceed 3 billion yuan ($422 million) in revenue with more than 100 million yuan in tax contributions, Guo said.

Once ingredients are ready, it's time for manufacturers inside the building to turn formulas into mass-market products.

"Scaling up a lab sample into industrial production isn't simply multiplying the quantities. It is a complex, rigorous process involving shifts in physical, chemical and engineering conditions," said Michael Jungho Kim, president of Kolmar Cosmetics (Wuxi).

To ensure quality, the manufacturer runs comprehensive inspections and validation throughout the entire process, with six stages of testing from raw materials entry to final shipment, Kim added.

As someone who has lived in China for 18 years, Kim said he has witnessed the rise and rapid growth of China's beauty and wellness industry.

"Chinese beauty ODMs (original design manufacturers) are increasingly competitive — not only in efficiency and cost, but also in rapid learning, technological accumulation and alignment with global market needs," he said.

As a bridge connecting Chinese and global beauty technologies and markets, Kolmar will continue advancing open innovation and integrating high-quality resources worldwide, helping Chinese ODMs shift from "serving China" to "serving the world", Kim noted.