Jing'an boosts 'beauty economy' with cosmetic festival, new innovation center

As a key player in Shanghai's drive to become a global consumer hub, Jing'an District is doubling down on its fast-growing beauty sector.

During the city's Double Five Shopping Festival, the 6th Shanghai International Cosmetic Festival opened at Jiuguang Department Store, bringing together global beauty powerhouses such as L'Oréal, Estée Lauder, Sisley and Clarins. With product launches, pop-up events, trend forums and livestreams, the festival turned the shopping district into a vibrant stage for beauty innovation.

To support this momentum, Jing'an transformed Jiuguang's outdoor plaza into a stylish social space featuring immersive experiences. Major malls like Jiuguang, HKRI Taikoo Hui and Daning Jiuguang launched coordinated campaigns that integrated online and offline channels, boosting foot traffic and deepening consumer engagement.

At the same time, the district marked a major step forward in its "beauty economy" ambitions with the official launch of the Skin Health Management Innovation Center in the Daning Functional Zone.

The center is backed by key partnerships. L'Oréal China, Shanghai Huashan Hospital and Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital have signed agreements to support its development. L'Oréal plans to expand its local footprint and help attract more high-quality businesses and talent to the center. The two hospitals will contribute clinical expertise, research data and equipment to establish public labs and a dedicated skin health research facility.

Ten related companies, including Fanyi Biotech and Yimeihua Biopharma, are among the first to move in.

The center will focus on three pillars: professional dermatological services, commercialization of research results and startup incubation. It will feature three core platforms for technology transfer, pilot testing and product certification, supported by five service tracks covering public resources, expert support, financial services, supply chain access and talent development.

With strong policy backing, the initiative aims to accelerate the transformation of skin health innovations and streamline the path from lab to market. Incentives such as rent discounts and dedicated funding will be offered to help resident companies tackle research and development, financing and market access challenges.

The first phase, nearly 10,000 square meters, has already been put into use, focusing on R&D and incubation. Future phases are expected to expand the total area to between 50,000 and 100,000 square meters. The long-term vision is to build a diversified "beauty-plus" industrial cluster that supports enterprises through their entire life cycle.

In recent years, Jing'an has emerged as a magnet for regional headquarters of global beauty brands, attracting international names such as L'Oréal, Sisley, Clarins, L'Occitane, La Prairie and Charlotte Tilbury. Innovation-driven domestic players have also set up operations here, including Yatsen's global R&D center (parent company of Perfect Diary) and Clarins' first overseas laboratory. The district is positioning itself not only as a hub for brand presence but also as a genuine innovation lab for the beauty industry.

Home to two of China's top dermatological institutions – Shanghai Huashan Hospital and Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital – Jing'an is leveraging its medical and research resources to support the sector's long-term growth.

Through the Skin Health Management Innovation Center initiative, the district is building a full-chain ecosystem that links R&D, commercialization and market entry. The goal is to speed up innovation and better meet the growing demand for high-quality, science-driven consumer goods.