eauty rituals while honouring the philosophy of Chinese aesthetics. The brand’s name itself is a fusion of ‘Flora’ and a feminine suffix evoking a goddess among blossoming flowers. Its hero ingredient is the lotus, presenting not just in formulas, but in the physical shape of compact cases, the visual grammar of campaigns, and the broader narrative the brand tells about where it comes from. Gabby Chen, global markets president at Florasis, draws a direct analogy to how the major Western houses built cultural identity across generations. “If you look at others – Shiseido represents Japan, Estée Lauder represents New York with a very modern identity, L’Oréal represents France with a more romantic cultural expression. Florasis aims to represent Asian beauty,” she told Inside Retail. While rooted in Chinese culture, Florasis is reaching toward a wider pan-Asian aesthetic identity, one that Chen argues resonates organically because the cultural material is genuinely shared. “The lotus is an important flower in both Vietnam and China, shaped by our geography and culture,” Chen added. “Because lotus is native to Asia, we naturally understand and appreciate its beauty in a deeper way. It connects strongly with our cultural identity. In the same way that sakura represents Japan or the rose represents France, lotus represents a distinct Asian beauty. It’s something uniquely ours.” This has real commercial consequences. Japan’s sales revenue accounted for 40 per cent of Florasis’s total overseas sales in 2024. “In Japan, setting powder performs very well because it aligns with local consumer behaviour,” Chen explained. “Japanese consumers prefer lighter makeup and a more natural, glass-like finish. In Southeast Asia, particularly in Vietnam, our best-selling products are cushions and sunscreen – driven by both the climate and user habits. In the US market, however, our top- performing products are eyeshadow palettes.” Chen added that this localisation requires real discipline. “We adopt a tailored go-to-market strategy. At the same time, we maintain a consistent brand persona. Our DNA has never changed. What may change is the product offering.” A one-size-fits- all approach, she said flatly, “simply doesn’t work.” Fewer doors, higher stakes Florasis’ success was initially built on content- driven commerce. The brand grew up on China’s TikTok equivalent, Douyin, mastering livestream selling before the format had a name in Western markets. Chen makes no apologies for this heritage. “From the beginning, we learned how to tell our story and communicate the advantages of our products effectively. We became very strong in content, especially video. Over time, we built what you could call a standard operating process into our daily operations – how to convert, how to engage, how to drive sales. In that sense, we are very strong, and in many ways, we do it better than other brands.” That muscle gives Florasis a competitive edge in markets where TikTok and Instagram are evolving into serious commerce channels. But Chen is careful not to let the e-commerce origin story become the whole story. “That doesn’t mean e-commerce is the only way we operate,” she said. “E-commerce gave us a strong foundation, but ultimately, it’s just one part of a much bigger brand-building journey.” The more consequential strategic shift has been the move into physical retail, and the locations say everything about where Florasis positions itself. From Paris’s La Samaritaine to Tokyo’s Ginza Six, Florasis has been inserting itself into luxury retail ecosystems. The Tokyo flagship opened in January 2025, making Florasis the first Chinese cosmetics brand to operate a flagship store in the Ginza district. The brand is targeting 50 stores globally by next year. “We opened a flagship store in Tokyo, launched a counter in Paris, and most recently expanded into Dubai,” Chen said. “These physical touchpoints allow us to show consumers who we are and why our brand is different.” In Japan alone, Florasis now operates more than 500 points of sale. Meanwhile, in its home market, Florasis Hangzhou flagship spans more than 1000sqm, with white jade stone flooring – the same ingredient used in the brand’s setting powders – and windows shaped after classical Chinese garden architecture. The Hangzhou flagship Chen described during the conversation spans over 1000sqm, with white jade stone flooring – the same ingredient used in the brand’s setting powders – and windows shaped after classical Chinese garden architecture. “Every detail is intentional,” Chen said. “It’s all about expressing who we are as a brand and why we exist.” Location, she is quick to add, is never incidental. “For us, location has to align closely with our brand positioning. We are not an entry-level brand. We position ourselves in the masstige segment, so it’s important that our retail spaces reflect that.” In the US, that thinking plays out through Ulta; in Japan, through Isetan Shinjuku, where the brand’s counter sits alongside Chanel. “Being in that environment helps reinforce our positioning,” Chen said. Overcoming misconceptions The central friction in Florasis’s global story is the assumption consumers bring through the door before they’ve seen anything. Florasis lipsticks run US$49 to US$59. Eyeshadow palettes sit in a comparable range. By Chinese domestic market standards, this is already premium. By the prevailing Western expectation of C-beauty pricing, it reads as a surprise. “That misconception is actually very normal,” Chen said, without irritation. “Especially since our lipsticks are priced between US$49 and US$59. Many people are surprised at first and say, ‘Wow, your products are quite expensive.’ But for us, the key moment is when consumers actually see or hold the product. Once they experience it firsthand, they immediately understand the difference in quality and craftsmanship.” Chen described witnessing this dynamic at Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, where Florasis shared exhibition space with several other renowned Chinese brands. “When consumers walked into the space and saw all the products side by side, the reaction we consistently heard was: ‘Your products look very premium.’” America, reconsidered Florasis has been in the American market for nearly five years, building consumer awareness through florasis.com, Amazon, TikTok and Instagram. “We’ve already been in the US market for over four years,” Chen said. “We started with our website, Amazon, TikTok and Instagram. We entered the global market in 2021, first Japan, then the US.” What changed is not commitment, but calculus. The brand has moved past the phase of broad platform presence into something more deliberate – fewer channels, higher stakes, and a harder push into prestige retail. “We’ve passed stage one, which is being everywhere,” Chen said. “Now we need to be on the right channels. We work with Ulta and will work with another prestige department store in Q2. So now it’s more focused on where to be.” Florasis launched on Ulta.com last October, and the brand’s average order value in America already exceeds $100. “If you are a US consumer and want to buy Florasis, you usually go to Google, search the brand, and then land on our website,” Chen explained. “If you’re on Ulta, you already want to buy beauty products. They love our products because they are unique. Many say, ‘I’ve seen this brand before, but didn’t know it was available on Ulta.’ The Ulta team has been extremely happy with our performance.” That partnership has also changed how other retailers see the brand. “Once we launched there, we started to see more inbound interest from other retailers,” Chen said. “They see that we’ve been accepted by a major player, and that gives them confidence.” She attributes it to accumulated craft. “Even the shape of our products reflects our brand philosophy. Our setting powders and cushions are designed in the form of a lotus leaf so when you hold them, it feels like you’re holding a lotus leaf in your hand. There are many of these small, thoughtful details across our products.” Where many brands manufacturing in China inflate prices significantly for Western markets, Florasis keeps its pricing close to domestic levels. “Our pricing is consistent across markets,” Chen said. “What we sell in China is very close to what we sell in Vietnam or other regions. We don’t increase prices simply because we enter markets like the US or Europe. That’s important because even in China, we are already positioned at a higher price point compared with many other local brands. So our premium positioning starts at home.” The practical result is that there is no grey-market arbitrage opportunity and no incentive for parallel sellers to undercut the brand, because the price gap between geographies is too narrow to exploit. “Amazon is not a key channel for us because there are many parallel and grey- market sellers offering lower prices,” Chen noted. The brand’s own site remains the primary transaction point and the one over which it has full control. The regulatory gauntlet and the tariff headwind Building a prestige beauty brand from a Chinese base carries operational costs that don’t show up cleanly in any balance sheet. For a brand whose formulations draw on traditional Chinese medicine like pearl powder, peony extract, and jade powder, the regulatory complexity is compounded by the fact that most international frameworks were not built with these materials in mind. “Regulation is a major hurdle,” Chen said directly. “Every country has its own requirements, and product registration can be both time-consuming and costly. You need to provide extensive documentation, including detailed ingredient lists and certifications.” For Florasis specifically, the challenge runs deeper. “Many of our ingredients are rooted in traditional Chinese medicine, which may not be widely recognised in other markets. In some cases, we have to build the regulatory framework for these ingredients from scratch.” Rising US import tariffs add cost pressure on top. Chen acknowledges the impact without dramatising it. “Yes, it affects costs, especially import costs due to tariffs. But we are not the only ones affected. The reason to elevate the strategy is not only geopolitics. It’s also because the brand is at a different stage.” The long game of C-beauty Florasis is operating inside a genuine inflection point for Chinese consumer brands internationally. “If you look at the electronics space, brands like Huawei, DJI, Insta360, Xiaomi, they’ve done an excellent job showing the world that Chinese products can be innovative, high-end, and globally competitive. Now, when it comes to beauty, I think the perception is starting to shift but it’s still in progress,” Chen said. Back at Cosmoprof Bologna, with K-beauty occupying nearly half the exhibition floor, Chen spotted something retailers were beginning to say quietly: homogeneity is becoming a risk. “From a retailer’s perspective, that raises a red flag,” Chen said. “If everyone is offering similar products, differentiation becomes very limited, and competition often comes down to price. That’s where I see an opportunity for C-beauty. It represents the next wave of growth, because consumers are always looking for something new and distinctive.” “We are living in an era [when] consumers can buy anything, at any price point, through any channel. It’s not that products are lacking. What consumers are really seeking is connection. And that connection has to stand for something.” The brand, she said, is not trying to sell lipstick. “We’re trying to create that connection. And that connection has to be meaningful.” Chen is also candid about what this kind of brand-building requires in terms of patience. “If you look at companies like Shiseido, it took them over 80 years. L’Oréal has more than a century of history, and Estée Lauder has spent at least 50 years building what they are today. As a C-beauty brand, we are still very young. This is only our eighth year.” She added that this is the year when Florasis scales into physical retail and brings the brand experience closer to consumers. The next phase is already defined: Scaling physical retail, deepening presence in Japan, expanding into Vietnam and the Middle East, and preparing for entry into the UK. This story first appeared in the May 2026 issue of Inside Retail Asia magazine.