In the Class 100,000 cleanroom of Da’ai Biotechnology, quality inspectors are analyzing sunscreen content via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) instruments. Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center, the 2025 Guangzhou Cosmetics Industry White Paper has just showcased to the world this industrial cluster that accounts for 30% of China’s total cosmetics production capacity.
As a leading city in China’s beauty industry, Guangzhou is home to 1,857 cosmetic manufacturing enterprises, representing 30% of the national total. In 2024, the export volume of Guangzhou’s beauty and personal care products reached nearly 10 billion yuan, firmly securing its position as China’s largest export city for such products.
The cosmetics industry in this millennium-old commercial capital has formed a complete industrial chain covering raw material R&D, production and manufacturing, and brand marketing, with over 1.2 million product types circulating nationwide.
01 Industry Landscape
Guangdong’s cosmetics industry has developed a pattern of multi-point support and coordinated development. With Guangzhou as the core, each district has distinct positioning:
- “Baiyun Beauty Bay” in Baiyun District recorded a 28% year-on-year growth in cosmetics exports in the first three quarters of this year;
- “Southern Beauty Valley” in Huangpu District maintained a year-on-year growth rate of over 10% in the output value of above-scale domestic beauty enterprises;
- “China Beauty Capital” in Huadu District achieved a stable year-on-year growth rate of over 10% in the total output value of above-scale enterprises for 34 consecutive months;
- “Bay Area Beauty Valley” in Conghua District saw both the number of above-scale enterprises and industrial output value in the beauty and daily chemical industry chain surge by over 10% year-on-year.
This regional coordination is reflected not only in geographical distribution but also in the in-depth integration of the industrial chain. Guangzhou has established 31 provincial-level engineering and technology research centers and built a “nine-in-one” comprehensive service system for quality infrastructure.
The National Cosmetics Quality Inspection and Testing Center (Guangzhou) provides full-chain technical support, forming a complete innovation loop of “patent-based foundation, new raw material breakthroughs, brand value enhancement, and platform empowerment.”
02 Selection Criteria
Certification qualifications are the primary consideration when selecting Guangdong cosmetic factories. High-quality factories typically hold internationally recognized certifications. For example, the production workshops of Guangdong Bixi Biotechnology Co., Ltd. comply with GMP standards and have obtained US FDA and EU GMP certifications.
The cleanliness of the production environment directly affects product quality. Key areas such as laboratories, raw material rooms, and filling rooms of Guangzhou Zhuangdian Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. adopt Class 100,000 air purification standards, while other areas use Class 300,000 standards. The GMP workshop of Guangdong Free Energy Technology Co., Ltd. even meets Class 10,000 cleanliness standards, far exceeding the industry’s common Class 100,000 requirement.
R&D capability is a core indicator of a factory’s competitiveness. As of 2025, the total number of invention patent applications in Guangzhou’s cosmetics industry reached 14,900, including over 11,774 applications in the raw material field, ranking first in China.
03 Production Capacity Analysis
The production capacity of Guangdong cosmetic factories is impressive:
- Guangdong Bixi Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has 23 filling lines with an annual output of over 30 million boxes of cosmetics;
- Guangzhou Zhuangdian Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. has a daily chemical production capacity of 5 tons and a designed annual capacity of 5,000 tons;
- The GMP workshop of Guangdong Free Energy Technology Co., Ltd. has introduced advanced fully automatic production lines, with an annual capacity of over 50 million units.
Zhongshan’s beauty industry cluster achieved an output value of 14.39 billion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%. As a leading enterprise, Nascent Cosmetics is known as the “Foxconn of the cosmetics industry”—one of China’s largest local cosmetics ODM enterprises and among the top four global cosmetics ODMs.
The advanced level of production equipment directly impacts product quality. For instance, Bixi Biotechnology is equipped with advanced production lines such as French VMI laboratory vacuum emulsification equipment.
04 Innovation Trends
Guangdong’s cosmetics industry is transitioning from “OEM manufacturing” to a dual-driver model of “R&D + branding.” As of 2025, the number of registered new raw materials in Guangzhou reached 40, accounting for 12.4% of the national total.
Enterprises are continuously breaking through in raw material innovation. Companies like Guangzhou Bawei Co., Ltd. have transformed from traditional OEM models to a dual-driver model of “technological R&D + brand operation,” and have led or participated in the formulation of 6 national standards and 34 group standards.
Digital and intelligent production has become a new industry trend. Zhongshan Nascent Cosmetics has built a full-chain solution for enterprise informatization, digitization, and intelligence, covering key business digital links from R&D, production, and finished products to logistics.
The company has constructed an intelligent production workshop exceeding 120,000 square meters, with digital equipment accounting for over 90% of production equipment, significantly improving the average sample-making time and efficiency for customers.
05 Cooperation Strategies
When cooperating with Guangdong cosmetic factories, clarifying the cooperation model is crucial:
- OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing): Factories produce according to formulas and specifications provided by brands;
- ODM (Original Design Manufacturing): Factories provide comprehensive services from product conception and formula R&D to production.
Zhang Shuguang, Secretary-General of the Zhongshan Cosmetics Industry Association, points out that current industry orders are highly dependent on OEM production, and brand added value is further diluted under the impetus of live e-commerce. She believes that developing independent brands is the key to breaking through the bottleneck.
Cooperation should also focus on factories’ sustainable development capabilities. For example, Guangdong Zhuofen Cosmetics Co., Ltd. invested 2.64 million yuan in supporting environmental protection facilities during construction, including wastewater treatment systems, waste gas treatment devices, and noise prevention and control facilities. Such environmental investment reflects the enterprise’s long-term business philosophy.
06 Export Advantages
Guangdong cosmetic factories possess strong global competitiveness. Guangzhou-based manufacturers have established over 15 overseas factories, spanning France, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other countries.
Enterprises have captured overseas markets through differentiated strategies:
- Feimei Company has become a leader in the skincare market in Indonesia, Malaysia, and other countries through precise positioning, technological innovation, and localization strategies;
- Feilu’er has emerged as the top online color cosmetics brand in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, and other regions;
- Brands such as Perfect Diary and Colorkey have successfully entered European, American, Japanese, and South Korean markets via cross-border e-commerce.
Cultural empowerment has become a new driving force for brand globalization. Weng Zhenguo, Chairman of Guangzhou Xuelei Cosmetics Co., Ltd., notes that the core competitiveness of the fragrance and entire cosmetics industry has shifted to content expression, story-telling, and emotional value output.
Enterprises integrate Oriental cultural elements into every aspect from raw material selection and formula R&D to packaging design and marketing communication, endowing “Chinese beauty products” with both high-quality performance and cultural warmth.
The newly laid foundation of the Dongyangli·Chaoyan Multicultural Aesthetics Intelligent Manufacturing Base in Conghua’s “Bay Area Beauty Valley” covers 25,000 square meters of land with a construction area of approximately 100,000 square meters. Meanwhile, the GMP workshop of Guangdong Free Energy Technology Co., Ltd., with an investment of about 50 million yuan and a construction area of nearly 2,000 square meters, boasts an annual capacity of over 50 million units.
With a total of 14,900 invention patent applications and 12.4% of the national registered new raw materials, Guangzhou’s cosmetics industry stands as a pillar of China’s beauty sector. When consumers pick up a Guangdong-produced lipstick or a bottle of serum, they hold in their hands 30% of China’s cosmetics production capacity, nearly 10 billion yuan in export value, and the complete story of a millennium-old commercial capital’s industrial transformation.
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