10 Best Selling Consumer Products in China

In case you’ve been wondering which products are in high demand in China, or what 18.67% of the total world population loves spending their money on, here are 10 best selling consumer products in China!

As you are probably very much aware, China is one huge country. Not only is it in the third place in the world based on its size (right after the US and Canada, which share the 2nd place. Russia is the first), but it has the population of stunning 1,411,981,487! That’s almost a billion and a half! Production and market-wise that means China is an enormous market and a force to be dealt with. In the western-oriented world, we sometimes tend to forget one of the basic qualities of huge countries: in some cases, they prefer to keep to themselves. On this subject, that would mean buying domestic products that the rest of the world has hardly heard of. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s analyze the market first.

In order to better get to know the average Chinese consumer and his/her habits, we read a lengthy China Shopper Report 2017 by Bain&Company. This information provided us with an insight into Chinese economy and the best selling products in China in 2017. It appears that the most demanded products in China come from the sectors of — packaged food, beverages, personal care and home care. These areas represent 80% of China’s FMCG ( fast-moving consumer goods) purchases. Personal care products have shown the largest increase in sales compared to the previous year (10.5%), which is a striking number compared to the minimal increase in home care products (3.5%), food (0.5%), or beverages (0.2%). Also, there is a rising trend with anything healthy or hygiene related, and personal products also fit into this category, so we focused on them in this article.

As for the money matters, or the price of a product, Chinese consumers are very specific, to say the least. The latest trend in personal care products purchase is to go for the more pricey option and show a kind of prestige. However, one of the reasons why national products are doing better than the foreign goods lies in the fact that Chinese manufacturers know best how to offer discounts and tempting deals to their loyal customers. That is one of the skills foreign companies have yet to master. Either way, the best things to export to China would probably be chewing gum, fabric softener, instant noodles, and beer. Some of the American products that Chinese love are quite expected, such as women apparel, but you certainly didn’t expect baby and maternity products, did you? That was the consequence of a couple of safety scandals with Chinese milk and infant formula. The Chinese always want the best brand at the best price on the one hand, but on the other, they are willing to pay for high-end merchandise in order to gain prestige. Consequently, this is one challenging market to master. Nevertheless, the safest products to manufacture would be those from the personal care category, so let’s go back to that.

HKTDC Research confirmed what we have already suspected: cosmetics and makeup sales have been growing rapidly in the last couple of years, thus becoming the best selling products in China 2016. The overall retail sales of skincare products were RMB 169.1 billion ( over 25 billion dollars), and make-up products turnover was RMB 28.3 billion ( $4 billion). Green/natural products are held in high esteem, and sunscreen products are also bought all year long, irrespective of the season.

Now that we have established which kinds of products are absolute best sellers in China, the last thing to do was to find some good examples of them. As we have already explained, Chinese consumers like their goods both affordable and pricey, healthy/green, and they prefer domestic to foreign brands (as stated in the report). We found them at Refinery 29, and in order to find similar examples, we read some China Daily articles to learn about the most popular national brands in cosmetics and skin care. Finally, we chose some representatives form the most popular categories explained above, and completed our list. Admittedly, the products listed are given in random order, but they do reflect the most popular products made in China, i.e., best selling products in this country.

If you’re wondering what their neighbors are putting in their shopping baskets, read our 10 Best Selling Consumer Products in Bangladesh. In the meantime, let’s finally see which are 10 best selling consumer products in China!

10. Herborist T’ai Chi Mask

Price: $80

T’ai Chi, yin and yang… Seriously, when you open the box, you’ll see a black and a white cream separated in order to resemble the famous sign. First, you should apply the black purifying mask, wait for 5 minutes, and then wash it off. For the best results, you should gently massage your face for a while and then apply the white mask. That should be left for 10 minutes. The white mask is a nourishing one. Apart from lovely skin, we believe this will also teach you some patience.

9. Herborist Re-Energizing Cream 

Price: $38.82

We are continuing our list of best selling consumer products in China with another Herborist skin care product that Chinese women adore and the rest of the world should be doing the same. The tendency for purchasing healthy and natural products is very much present, so the manufacturer boasts they have chosen the right herbs for your skin: Peach Blossom, Ginseng, and Chaste Tree. This cream is intended for tired skin which is drained due to daily pollution, stress, exposure to computer screens and other consequences of modern lifestyle. It should be applied every morning and evening to get the best effect.

8. Tiger Balm Extra Strength Pain Relieving Ointment

Price: $6.99

Remain calm; there’s no need to call PETA for this. The Tiger balm ranks 8th on our list of best selling consumer products in China. It has no tiger ingredients in it. It’s just play on words to express how powerful it is. The balm was first produced in the 1870s, and it has retained its popularity. Primarily, it is used as a pain relief. Sometimes it is advertised as a fast relief for joint and arthritis pain, but it can also be used for headaches, blocked noses or bruises. By the way, you had a good reason to raise your eyebrows at the beginning. Unfortunately, the Chinese are always in demand of genuine tiger products. For some unfathomable reason, some people relish drinking wine made of tiger bones.

7. Ling Skincare Vitamin K Anti-Redness Calming Solution

Price: $80

A beautiful, spotless face is an ideal of beauty in Asian cultures, so there is no room for redness, sensitivity or broken capillaries. Once again, the soothing herbs are used in combination with vitamin K (it regulates blood clotting). If you’re eating your greens regularly, you should have enough of the vitamin.

6. SANJIN Watermelon Frost Compound Solstice

Price: $13.99

Enough for now with the crams and balms in this list of 10 best selling consumer products in China. Here’s a breath freshener, or a jack of all trades. Most people use it in cases of sore throats or bad breaths, but presumably, it does wonders and makes zits disappear. Pretty much like in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

5. Wei Beauty Golden Root Purifying Mud Mask

Price:  $42

Whoever first thought of putting mud on your face to make it cleaner can’t have been a very bright mind. Either way, mud really does work on your skin. Wei Beauty’s Golden Root Purifying Mud Mask ranks 5th on our list of best selling consumer products in China. It is made with the extract of golden root, which of course is a plant rich in anti-oxidants and growing only in cold regions such as the Mountains of Central Asia. After cleaning the impurities in your skin, it leaves your skin energized. By the way, even though the root is golden, you’re face will be brown during the process.

4. Wei Beauty Tao Wei Cool 2 Hot Sonic Beautifier

Price: $198

When we said “personal care” and “cosmetics,” you probably didn’t have something like this in mind, did you? This little $200 gadget which ranks 4th on our list of best selling consumer products in China will make your skin shine and will get you in a better mood for sure since you won’t have that tired look anymore. According to the commercial, 94% of the users thought their skin felt softer after one week of use, while some 81% stated they looked younger.

And now, let’s see the top three best selling consumer products in China.

3. Pechoin Natural herbal essence  bb cream

BB creams are also very popular in China. This one is suitable for all skin types, and it’s made by an old Chinese beauty care company. Pechoin has been in the game since 1931. Until recently, the brand was connected with the older generation, but it was successfully re-branded, and it is now focused on younger shoppers (aged 18-25). Their enigmatic campaign motto  “Choose Pechoin, as beautiful as Yongling Wang” was an absolute hit. After a week of this motto all around town, without any information on Yongling Wang, the consumers were getting more and more curious. Finally, it became known that she is Pechoin’s Head of Copy and the public loved it!

We’re positive that with the new advertisement they’ll be a source of hot new products from China for 2017, too.

2. PROYA Whitening UV Genuine Waterproof Female Sunscreen Cream

Price: $41.99

Do you remember those pictures from The New York Times showing two women swimming with masks on their faces? The whole world was so baffled by this that the Chinese government reacted and forbade selling the swimming masks. Modern swimsuits are to be worn, but the age-old aesthetic ideal of a white face is still undeniable.

1. Chando Aging Resistance Activating Cream 

Here is the last product in 10 best selling consumer products in China, and we chose it to be an anti-aging cream. This one is definitely one of the products in high demand in China. As much as having a purely white face is considered vital, it’s not that appealing if it has too many creases. Retaining youth is the ideal everyone is striving for. Chando Aging Resistance Activating Cream is supposed to make that happen. According to their advert, there is no need to hide your smile behind your hand anymore (so as not to show any wrinkles on the sides of your mouth(!)). Instead, use the Chando cream and smile without any qualms!