"In the uncertain future, it is certain that Chinese brands will enter the first camp of the international market. At the 15th China Cosmetics Conference, Fang Yuyou, co-founder and CEO of Proya, was very sure about the future of domestic products.
As one of the representative enterprises of the domestic product camp, Proya regards "research and development" as the first priority and takes the initiative to participate in the wave of the international cosmetics industry. At the same time, Proya has started a series of big moves around the globalization of R&D.
On September 14, Proya announced a blockbuster news: Wei Xiaolan, who has nearly 20 years of R&D experience in the global cosmetics field, officially assumed the position of Chief Scientific Officer of Proya's CSO.
Wei Xiaolan. As we all know, in China's cosmetics industry, high-end scientific research talents are hard to come by. The addition of Wei Xiaolan not only further strengthens Proya's R&D team, but also releases a strong signal: Proya's global innovative R&D system has a new footing. And domestic brands have also started a new round of racing in the R&D highland.
High-quality efficacy products debuted in the innovation exhibition for 8 years of precipitation, and skin care technology has entered the "Space 2."0 era" R&D strength as support.
Locally based. Introduce international high-end R&D talents.
In the industry, Wei Xiaolan has a rich resume.
According to public information, Wei Xiaolan graduated from the School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Peking University, and holds an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania.
In 2018, she joined Coty Group, a global perfume and cosmetics giant, as VP (Vice President) of R&D in Asia Pacific. In this role, she helped Coty build a complete local R&D center, as well as a closed-loop organization for front-end product insights, formulation design, packaging engineering, processes, efficacy testing, toxicology and regulatory departments.
Over the years, she has been deeply involved in the cosmetics and consumer goods industry, and has conducted research and exploration in multiple dimensions such as chemical materials, cosmetic raw materials, formula development and perfume design, and has published more than 10 articles in world-renowned academic journals and more than 20 patent researches, covering compound synthesis, polymer materials, formulations and functional raw materials.
Wei Xiaolan is a representative of Proya's many high-end R&D talents. As a cosmetics company that "emphasizes that science and technology are the real productive forces", Proya has built a strong professional R&D team through the construction of postdoctoral workstations and the introduction of national talents.
It is understood that in the future, Proya will continue to expand its global R&D team, and the talent background will cover a variety of different disciplines such as science, biochemistry, life science, medicine, psychology and statistics.
According to Proya's annual report, in 2021, the number of Proya's R&D personnel will reach 159, of which 51 will have a master's degree or above, accounting for 32%.
Source: Proya Cosmetics Co., Ltd. *** 2021 Annual Report.
The introduction of Wei Xiaolan may bring more international vision to Proya's scientific research career, and it is also an important step for Proya to continue to build a global R&D team and enter the internationalization.
High-quality efficacy products debuted in the innovation exhibition for 8 years of precipitation, and skin care technology has entered the "Space 2."0 era" R&D strength as support.
Three engines. Strengthen the globalization of the R&D system.
Building a global R&D team is an important part of Proya's global R&D strategy.
In addition to talents, Proya deeply integrates global raw materials, global R&D and global production resources to carry out effective, collaborative and forward-looking R&D, so as to build a world-class cosmetics innovation R&D system. The relevant person in charge of Proya revealed.
The first is the globalization of raw materials. Proya has reached strategic cooperation with many global ingredient giants or technology laboratories such as Xinyang, BASF, DSM, Ashland, Croda, Lipotrue, CODIF, and Yingchuang. At present, the international high-quality raw materials that have reached cooperation with Proya cover more than 100 brands in more than 20 countries and regions such as Europe, America and Japan.
Proya raw material ** merchant.
The second is the globalization of R&D. As early as 2008, Proya built its own domestic R&D center - "Scientific Skin Care Laboratory". After years of development, the R&D and innovation center has been equipped with advanced scientific research equipment such as plasma emission spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer, all-in-one optical measurement system, VISIA facial image analyzer, electron microscope, and dual-focus microscope.
On the basis of the R&D and innovation center, Proya established the International Science Research Institute last year to explore in the fields of basic research, applied research, raw material research, and efficacy clinical research. In the same year, Proya Testing Center obtained the National Laboratory Accreditation Certificate issued by the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS), which marks that the professional test report issued by Proya Testing Center within the scope of accreditation has been internationally recognized.
CNAS Laboratory Certification.
In addition to the above-mentioned R&D bases, Proya's R&D centers in Hangzhou Longwu, Shanghai and Japan are also under construction.
The third is the globalization of production. Proya's globalization in production is reflected in equipment, warehousing logistics and management systems.
Since its inception, Proya has introduced advanced equipment and technology from Switzerland, Germany and France, and currently has 15 sets of emulsification equipment, 35 filling and packaging production lines, with a daily production capacity of up to 1 million products or 1.2 million pieces**; Its warehousing and logistics center is equipped with three-dimensional high-level shelves, and adopts SAP WM warehouse management system and MES visual management system, which can monitor and optimize inventory in real time; In terms of management system, Proya Huzhou factory has passed ISO22716, GMPC, ISO9001, OHSAS18000 and ISO14001 and other international certifications, covering the whole process of product production and providing quality assurance from the source of each product.
Proya's self-built factory production equipment (partial).
High-quality efficacy products debuted in the innovation exhibition for 8 years of precipitation, and skin care technology has entered the "Space 2."0 era" R&D strength as support.
R&D leads the way. Enter a new era of international brands.
R&D is the foundation that determines the life cycle of an enterprise, which has almost become a consensus.
However, there is often a gap between consensus and reality. As Fang Yuyou said in a public speech, technology is the biggest challenge for many effective skin care brands.
Today's consumers have changed, and when the product is good, consumers will buy and share. We believe that the competitiveness of cosmetics brands in the future is still scientific research strength. Fang Yuyou pointed out.
Proya's emphasis on scientific research and scientific research strength are also reflected in the figures.
Proya's 2022 semi-annual report shows that R&D expenses in the first half of the year reached 61 million yuan, an increase of 29.7 million yuan over the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 9466%, and the R&D expense ratio also increased from 1 in the same period last year64% to 233%。
In terms of the number of patents, Proya ranks among the top domestic beauty companies - a total of 217 patents authorized by the state. Among them, there are 104 invention patents, 19 utility model patents and 94 appearance patents.
Proya's patent certificate (partial).
In academic research and the formulation of industry standards, Proya has also made many breakthroughs and contributions.
Proya has created 11 of China's first batch of cosmetics efficacy evaluation group standards, including whitening, anti-wrinkle, oil control, etc. At the same time, Proya also participated in the formulation of 10 national standards and 3 industry standards to promote the standardized development of China's cosmetics industry.
These figures are undoubtedly a "pioneering" move for Chinese cosmetics companies with insufficient R&D investment. When the channel dividends, marketing dividends and traffic dividends in the industry disappear, it may be difficult to see returns in the short term for research and development, but for domestic products like Proya, who are interested in competing for the global market, it is a "century-old plan".
In China's cosmetics industry, which is becoming more and more volatile, domestic beauty products are collectively awakening. Even in the most difficult basic research fields with the largest investment and the slowest returns, in addition to Proya, a large number of domestic beauty products have entered the game. The global innovative scientific research system created by Proya, together with other high-quality domestic brands, has raised the R&D level of domestic brands to a new "realm".
A higher level of research and development with a more international perspective is the foundation for domestic products to base themselves on the local market and compete globally. Proya has obviously taken the lead silently and is moving towards the next stage - the "era of international brands".