How beauty brands are using Lunar New Year to forge customer loyalty
On Wednesday, countless communities around the globe will celebrate the start of a new year: the Year of the Snake. Observed in China and in many Asian cultures, Lunar New Year marks a new year on the lunisolar calendar, with 2025 marking the transition from the Year of the Dragon to the Year of the Snake.
Global beauty brands are taking part in the celebrations, as well. In January, Swedish perfume brand Byredo released a campaign on the theme of homecoming in collaboration with Chinese artist Wei Yijuan. Dyson, meanwhile, released a limited-edition red version of its famed Airwrap, while French beauty house Guerlain launched limited-edition red and gold packaging for perfumes and lipsticks.
Lunar New Year-themed campaigns and products have become perennial initiatives for many fashion and beauty brands, particularly those courting luxury shoppers in China. But this year’s Lunar New Year launches come at a turning point for customers both in China and across the globe.
In China, conglomerates like Estée Lauder have struggled to recoup on declining sales in the Asian market. The Estée Lauder Companies reported net sales in Asia decreased 11% in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, largely due to a poor performance in mainland China and Hong Kong. In the U.S., launches that celebrate Asian American culture come as major companies like Target have kicked off 2025 by rolling back on the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
But in China, Year of the Snake launches won’t immediately help boost sales so much as they can — if done well — bolster customer loyalty.
“Chinese New Year is not a moment where brands are trying to sell that much. It’s not like Christmas where there is a tradition of gifts,” said Dao Nguyen, founder of Essenzia By Dao, a beauty marketing agency with a focus on the Chinese consumer. “It’s more a moment to create a deep emotional bond, much more than pushing the sales.”
Key to fostering that awareness, Nguyen said, are Chinese social platforms like Weibo, WeChat and Douyin. To promote its Lunar New Year special-edition packaging of scents like Peony and Blush Suede, Estée Lauder-owned Jo Malone released short-form videos on Chinese social platform Rednote.
Jo Malone has found success in China since entering the market in 2014. ELC’s Q1 2025 earnings reported that the brand saw double-digit growth in the country despite the overall slump. But Western beauty brands face increasing competition from homegrown brands in China. Into You, a Chinese beauty brand founded in 2019, released a campaign featuring Lunar New Year’s emblematic red envelopes, while local perfume brand Documents, which received backing from L’Oréal in 2022, promoted a Year of the Snake campaign on Rednote.
“Rather than considering that the demand is going down, we should consider that the demand is still there, but it’s very different in a competitive market,” said Nguyen. “This kind of Chinese New Year exercise is very important because being able to connect emotionally is going to make the difference.”
Brands are investing in in-person events as well as online. Hourglass, the luxury beauty brand owned by Unilever, hosted a three-day pop-up in Shanghai beginning January 10, its first major activation since entering China in 2022. According to the brand, Hourglass was the No. 1 ranked cosmetics brand on Douyin during the activation. While the brand launched a limited-edition snake-themed version of its Ambient Lighting Palette exclusive to China during the activation, Hourglass CMO Brooke Blashill said the pop-up was an opportunity for Chinese consumers to get to know Hourglass more so than for the brand to hone in on Lunar New Year.
“This is really more about inviting people to discover the Hourglass brand around this special moment,” said Blashill. “There’s always going to be competition, but how we go about launching a product, telling a story, offering something beyond just the product and having this unique differentiation around being a really purposeful brand is what sets us apart.”
Stateside, brands are investing in both Lunar New Year products and in-person events. In advance of Lunar New Year, Tower 28 launched its Red Bean Mochi LipSoftie. The product will join the permanent LipSoftie line and follows prior Lunar New Year-themed launches from the brand, including collaborations with the likes of “Kung Fu Panda” in previous years. According to Tower 28, Red Bean Mochi is currently the No. 2 bestselling LipSoftie shade from the brand at Sephora, behind Ube Vanilla.
The weekend prior to Lunar New Year, Tower 28 hosted bicoastal pop-up events at the Santa Monica Sephora and New York City’s Mochidoki cafe. For founder Amy Liu, the launches are both a reflection of her Chinese heritage and a chance to create a meaningful connection with her audience, which this year includes L.A. residents who may have been impacted by the January wildfires. Liu, who was displaced by the Palisades fire, said proceeds from Tower 28 sales during the Santa Monica pop-up would also go to the L.A. Fire Department Foundation.
“It’s really about overall brand love,” said Liu. “Maybe a few hundred people show up. It’s less about the 100 people. It’s also about: Can you take that moment and tell a story about what your intention is, or why you did it and about the celebration of it?”
Celebrations will continue beyond the 29th, as well. On February 5, Tatcha global director of artistry Daniel Martin will co-host a New York City dinner with Elle beauty director Kathleen Hou to celebrate Lunar New Year. Held at Chinatown restaurant Phoenix Palace, the dinner will aim to raise close to $20,000 for Apex for Youth, a non-profit that works with Asian and immigrant youth in New York City. Tatcha will sponsor the event along with other companies with Asian founders and CEOs, like Glow Recipe and Open Table.
Representing and serving communities of color has been a growing topic in beauty in the years since 2020. But with some companies backing away from DEI pledges in the weeks since President Donald Trump assumed office, Martin emphasized the importance of community in the beauty world. In the realm of Lunar New Year launches, Martin said he would like to see brands offer more storytelling and meaning to those launches, rather than simply products.
“Not to get into politics, but right now, more than ever, community is really important,” said Martin. “Though people know me through my work as a makeup artist, there’s also this human side to what I do and what I stand for. And I just hope that, if someone’s going to perform in a space, that they also need to show up more meaningfully.”
For brands like Tower 28 and Tatcha, Lunar New Year launches are often reflective of their founders’ heritage. But Liu believes there is room for many brands to participate in the festivities.
“There is a way to do anything, so as long as you’re doing it with intention, the right intention,” said Liu. “Maybe [brands] don’t have [Asian culture] in their heritage, but they are trying to honor their audiences.”