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China Exclusive: China's Jahwa to begin cosmetics production in France, Japan by year end

Xinhua, August 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

Cosmetics and household chemicals maker Shanghai Jahwa United Co., Ltd. will begin producing its herbal medicine-based cosmetics line in France and Japan at the end of this year.

The Shanghai-based company's Herborists cosmetics line debuted in Europe nearly eight years ago through retailer Sephora.

Jahwa said the new production plant in France will supply the European market. The Herborist line is a premium Chinese herbal medicine-inspired alternative to established Western brands. The brand has teamed up with a Japanese partner to leverage better technology and improve production quality.

Moving some production to Europe and Japan also came as Jahwa seeks to take advantage of better production and research technology from developed cosmetics markets. Research and development expenditures at Jahwa have been around 3 percent of the company's revenue, bringing it on par with international brands.

Jahwa president Xie Wenjian told Xinhua at the company's biannual product release on Thursday that the production plant in France will allow Herborist's new products to be available in the European market soon after they are released in China.

The company's cosmetics currently sold in Europe are imported from China and often come months after their release in the home market due to a lengthy review and approval process at EU customs, Xie said.

Despite growing popularity at home, Herborist's expansion in Europe remains an uphill battle, and Jahwa has been experimenting with ways to compete with established cosmetics juggernauts like Estee Lauder and L' Oreal to carve out a niche for consumers interested in the brand's use of natural herbs and Chinese medicine.

Herborist opened its flagship store in a busy shopping district in Paris in April to help expose European consumers to more of its products. The brand's Taichi facial mask and herbal serum have been available in cosmetics retailer Sephora across Europe and Douglas in Germany.

Herborist is also eyeing an entry to the U.S. market. Endi