https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-cu...outheast-asians



While brands like Skintific are labelled 'Made in the PRC', China isn't mentioned in their marketing materials
Consumers in Indonesia and Malaysia are concerned about whether Chinese-made products meet halal certification standards
Malaysian beauty consumer Farhana* was planning to buy some new skincare products when she finally settled on Skintific, a brand widely marketed in Malaysia and Indonesia.

"It is quite a big phenomenon here," the Kuala Lumpur resident told This Week in Asia. "It is widely marketed here, using celebrity ambassadors, and is already sold in Malaysian drug stores."

But Farhana ended up not buying the product after she found out that Skintific goods were made in China, prompting her to doubt if they were halal certified.



Skintific, which was launched in Indonesia in 2021, is one of several Chinese-made skincare brands that have been making rapid inroads in Muslim dominated markets such as Indonesia and Malaysia in recent years due to their low prices and perceived high quality.

Yet many of these brands appear to downplay the fact they are manufactured in China in favour of presenting themselves as local products made specifically for the Indonesian and Malaysian markets, an analyst says. Such positioning would allow them to sidestep concerns about safety and halal certification that other Chinese-made products might face.


While other Western and Korean skincare products have also flooded the Malaysian and Indonesian markets in recent years, these brands do not obscure their "foreign" origins, meaning consumers are able to make a more informed decision.

Visitors to the Skintific website are greeted by a smiling picture of its brand ambassador Nicholas Saputra, a famous Indonesian film star. But nowhere on the site, including on its "About Us" page, does it mention the brand's origins or where its products are manufactured.

Fitr, a salesperson at a pharmacy in Medan who declined to give her last name, said the Skintific skincare range had been flying off the store's shelves in recent months.

But the use of Indonesian brand ambassadors and unclear marketing has led to misunderstandings among shoppers, she said.

"People think that Skintific is an Indonesian brand, but actually it is made in China," she said, turning over a box to show the words "Made in the PRC" printed on the back in tiny letters.

When contacted for comment, a Skintific customer service representative told This Week in Asia that "Skintific was specifically developed for Indonesian users" and that "the formula itself comes from global laboratories, such as South Korea and Canada".

The representative explained that the products' raw materials came from the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, and Japan, but were produced in China and South Korea. They said Skintific was also sold in Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia.

But the customer service agent declined to reveal the founder and owner of the company, saying they could only speak about "product questions and facial consultations".

Skintific is not the only skincare brand launched in recent years that was developed for the Indonesian market but produced in China. Among others are Glad2Glow, The Originote and Lavojoy.

These brands also state they are "Made in the PRC" on their packaging but are often sold in the "local brands" sections of pharmacies. Their websites also contain little to no information about their origins.


Brands such as Skintific might not be keen to discuss origins, in light of past scandals of other products regarding unsafe ingredients and which were from China, said Trissia Wijaya, a senior research fellow at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.



When asked about halal certification in Malaysia, a Skintific customer service representative also told This Week in Asia that "all Skintific products in Malaysia have FDA [the US Food and Drug Administration] approval, which can be accessed via the QR code on the packaging".

Malaysian consumer Farhana said she took this to mean that Skintific's products were not yet halal certified, but added she remained open to buying them upon proper certification.

This post has been edited by perfectedservice: May 5 2024, 07:52 PM