C-Beauty Brand Florasis Taps Boyband Teens in Times as Next Ambassadors – A Good Choice?
Last month, C-beauty brand Florasis 花西子 announced boyband Teens in Times 时代少年团 as their newest official ambassadors. This follows the trend of many other C-beauty and Western brands in China who have leveraged the power of young male celebrities known as “Little Fresh Meat” and the fan economy. But is this a good choice for Florasis, a brand known for its traditional aesthetic and for being very selective when choosing ambassadors? Or is the brand just caving into the latest trend?
The Popularity of Little Fresh Meat
In China’s ever-changing beauty landscape, brands and influencers are continuing to challenge conventional beauty standards. Chinese consumers’ enthusiasm for male femininity and male beauty aesthetics has popularized China’s KOL genre of “Little Fresh Meat” 小鲜肉. This phrase refers to young Chinese male celebrities, who brands work with to attract their large female audiences.
From names such as ‘Lipstick King’ Li Jiaqi, to Lu Han and Kris Wu signing deals with Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, Cartier and more, the fascination with this new era of male beauty is evident.
Who is Florasis?
Florasis stands out amongst its competitors in the C-beauty world for promoting traditional Chinese beauty aesthetics, along with an affordable price point to attract younger clients. Their Chinese name Hua Xizi (花西子) translates to “makeup with flowers”, and refers to the use of floral and natural ingredients in their cosmetics. ‘Xizi’ is also the honorary name for an ancient Chinese beauty, and therefore aspires to help women feel as beautiful as Xizi when doing their makeup.
In 2019, Florasis made its name for their promotion of Eastern aesthetics. It leveraging the ‘Guochao’ 国朝 trend via its interpretations of traditional and elegant Chinese craftsmanship. They focus on creating unique product packaging and designs to echo their homage to traditional Chinese style. This has even gained them popularity in the States even though they are not yet selling there.
Florasis’ previous collaboration with beauty KOL Li Jiaqi in October 2020 included limited-edition makeup sets of setting power, brushes, and eyeshadow palettes. This featured silver-engraved packaging inspired by silver-making craftsmanship of China’s Miao Ethnic Group.
Surprisingly, Teens in Times and Florasis are a good fit
Teens in Times (时代少年团), also known as TNT, is a Chinese boyband launched by Times Fengjun Group (TF Family). The band is composed of seven members: Ma Jiaqi, Ding Chengxin, Song Yaxuan, Liu Yaowen, Zhang Zhenyuan, Yan Haoxiang, and He Junlin.
When we first heard the news we were a bit surprised. Not because a beauty band chose a boyband as ambassadors, as we already mentioned, that is quite common in China, but because in the past Florasis has always been very selective when choosing celebrity partnerships. This is a strong departure from their previous collaborations.
Its previous ambassadors actress Ju Jingyi (鞠婧祎) and supermodel Du Juan (杜鹃) are both known for their eastern beauty and style which is a great fit for the brand’s aesthetic. As mentioned above, Florasis also has had a long term partnership with male beauty influencer Li Jiaqi. He works with the brand on product development and serves as a beauty expert giving the products credibility.
Teens in Times, on the other hand, is a boyband. So why would Florasis choose them?
As an article from Jing Daily explained, “Teens in Times represents the spirits of Chinese young generations from inside and outside.” Florasis’ affordable price point means its target consumer base is younger consumers. They are still learning about makeup and getting started in discovering their personal style. According to Datastory, 26% of the brand’s consumers in 2019 were under 18, while nearly all the rest was between 20-30.
Young Chinese consumers have developed a strong interest in domestic brands and products that pay homage to their heritage. The natural choice would therefore be a Chinese music group such as Teens in Times. Although they are not yet as famous as the likes of Li Jiaqi or Kris Wu, their rapidly growing popularity, androgynous aesthetic and boyish charm will help Florasis to tap into new dimensions and resonate with the younger Chinese generation.
Whats more, the collaboration marks the brand’s fourth anniversary and signals a new era for the brand.
Initial Launch and Consumer Reaction
To announce the partnership, Florasis launched a campaign across Weibo, WeChat, Douyin, Kuaishou, QQ Music, and Tmall. It also ran ads on billboards across multiple cities in China.
On Weibo, Florasis’ short two-minute video campaign with Teens in Times received over 25.9 million views. The campaign hashtag #TeensInTimesFlorasis, garnered more than 400 million views in a single day. The video featured the seven teen boys in an ancient Chinese setting designing a lipstick.
Teens in Times boasts over 47 million total Weibo followers that no doubt played a role in the campaign’s success.
The campaign spotlighted the boyband’s youthful spirit as well as the brand’s dedication to traditional Chinese culture and aesthetics.
Using male celebrities or “Little Fresh Meat” is not new to Chinese brands. However, coupling Florasis’ traditional look with somewhat unconventional beauty influencers has successfully tied together modernity and tradition. This shows its forward thinking approach in tune with the younger Chinese generations and cements Florasis as a successful disruptor in the competitive and rapidly growing C-beauty world.
