Jasmin smells of success in China with $12m export deal

Mount Tamborine-based cosmetics business, Jasmin Skincare, has secured major orders worth more than $12 million in China with its range of natural, certified organic skincare products.

Minister for Trade John Mickel said that the beauty and lifestyle industry in Asia was booming, and Queensland businesses like Jasmin Skincare were making the most of it.

“After becoming the first certified organic skincare producer in the world to pass the rigorous compulsory testing program, Jasmin Skincare’s organic skincare range was registered, and therefore officially sanctioned to be imported and sold into China earlier this year,” Mr Mickel said.

“The company recently signed a three-year, $12 million contract with one of China’s major spa and retail distributors to make Jasmin products available at major department stores, brand speciality stores and spas across the country.

“Under this agreement the company has seen its first Jasmin specialty store opened in a high-end shopping centre in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in October."

Mr Mickel said Trade Queensland had worked closely with Jasmin Skincare since 2005.
Following ongoing cooperation and assistance from Trade Queensland in Australia and overseas, Jasmin Skincare’s owners and their local distributors are planning to open another seven specialty stores in China and a similar number in Hong Kong during 2009.

The company produces and processes in-house at Jasmin Skincare’s certified organic farm and manufacturing facilities at the top of Mount Tamborine in the Gold Coast hinterland, and distributes to some 23 countries with their initial export strategy targeting Asia specifically.

Over recent years, the growth of disposable income in many Asian countries, including China, means that people have more money to spend on luxury items such as lifestyle, cosmetic and beauty products.

Mr Mickel said a focus on exporting to Asia would be a key strategy to find new markets and pathways to success for Queensland’s businesses.

"Jasmin Skincare is to be commended for getting in now and finding that the luxury consumer market in China is vast and lucrative,” Mr Mickel said.

Representatives of Jasmin Skincare attended Cosmoprof Asia 2008, an annual beauty, wellbeing and lifestyle-focused trade show in Hong Kong, as part of a Trade Queensland trade mission in November.

Cosmoprof Asia 2008 included exhibitors from more than 40 countries and attracted an estimated 20,000 international visitors.

A total of 32 delegates from 18 companies attended the Trade Queensland-led mission, enabling participants to meet with senior executives and key decision makers from Asia’s major import and distribution companies, and to inspect major department stores and retailers in Hong Kong.

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18 December 2008