Purslane, Glabridin, Astragalus: China Skincare Stars H1 2024

Purslane (马齿苋): Social Momentum Leads Commercial Conversion

Purslane delivered the strongest social media performance of the three ingredients, with post volume reaching 219,000 in MAT2024 — a +166.1% YoY surge that significantly outpaced its revenue growth of +97.2%.^[1] That sequencing is deliberate: social awareness is running ahead of commercial conversion, providing a forward-looking indicator of continued growth in the periods ahead.

The sales figures already show substantial momentum. Revenue approached CN¥ 190M in MAT2024 — effectively doubling year-on-year — while unit volume leapt +142.7% to 3.677 million units. Engagement reached 3.066 million interactions (+87.9% YoY). Xiaohongshu (小红书) is the primary seeding platform, functioning as the discovery environment before consumers proceed to purchase on Tmall (天猫) or Douyin (抖音).

Purslane sales near-double while social media volume triples YoY

Glabridin (光果甘草): One Brand, One Product, CN¥ 890 Million

Glabridin represents the most commercially mature of the three ingredients and the most concentrated: the Guyu brand holds above 95% market share, making glabridin simultaneously an ingredient breakthrough story and a case study in single-brand ingredient monopoly.

The market reached CN¥ 890M in MAT2024 revenue — a +80.1% YoY increase — on 3.428 million units (+73.8% YoY). Social media volume grew +129.7% to 105,000 posts. But the most instructive data point is engagement: interactions fell -57.0% YoY from 2.62 million to 1.127 million, even as revenue continued to climb strongly. This decoupling reveals how ingredient-level awareness created by one brand (Meifubao, through a major March 2023 KOL campaign for its "Glabridin White Bottle") can be harvested commercially by another brand (Guyu) that has more effectively aligned its product with purchase intent.

Guyu's Glabridin Toner and Lotion Set generated CN¥ 770M in MAT2024 (+105.2% YoY) — nearly ten times the size of the next product in the segment. Its efficacy positioning is tightly defined: reducing sallowness, inhibiting glycation-induced yellowing, and improving dry and dull skin. The lifestyle narrative — "brightening skincare for people who stay up late" — connects an ingredient's functional benefits to a widely shared consumer experience across both genders.

Consumer sentiment for glabridin products reaches 97.2% positive, the highest of all three ingredients in this analysis. Consumers specifically attribute visible tone improvement to the glabridin and arbutin combination; Guyu's thoughtful packaging details — a spoon to prevent bacterial contamination and a leaf-shaped lid — generate brand goodwill that extends beyond ingredient efficacy. Negative feedback (2.8%) centres on post-application tightness and slower-than-expected cream absorption.

The male share of the glabridin audience has reached 39% — significantly above average for the beauty category — driven by the late-night dullness narrative that resonates with male consumers who respond to specific, functional efficacy claims rather than traditional beauty positioning.

Challenger opportunities exist. BOAM's glabridin face mask (CN¥ 8.8M, +387.6% YoY) demonstrates that a multi-ingredient brightening proposition combining glabridin with Traditional Chinese Medicine-adjacent botanicals — Lycium chinense root bark, licorice, and salvia — can build commercial traction against the dominant single-brand narrative. This TCM-adjacent formulation approach represents an underexplored differentiation pathway as glabridin enters mainstream awareness.

Astragalus (黄芪): The Fastest Grower, the Highest Risk

Astragalus is the most explosive commercial story in this analysis. Revenue reached CN¥ 510M (+153.3% YoY) in MAT2024, while unit volume surged +244.5% to 21.675 million units. Social media volume grew +116.4% to 473,000 posts, and engagement reached 27.489 million interactions (+141.4% YoY). No other plant ingredient in this report comes close to matching astragalus across all four growth dimensions simultaneously.

Growth is being driven almost entirely by domestic Chinese brands — Chunjuan, Sainuofang (珊诺坊), Zhile, and Runhuang — whose success reflects the "guochao" (国潮) domestic brand revival movement. For these brands, astragalus carries a cultural dimension that newer synthetic or international botanical actives cannot replicate: a Traditional Chinese Medicine heritage that provides an immediate consumer credibility shortcut.

Runhuang's Astragalus Cream is the single most explosive product in the entire plant ingredient market covered by this report, generating CN¥ 120M in MAT2024 at +660.1% YoY growth. Chunjuan's premium offering (CN¥ 64.5M, +35.2%) employs high-concentration astragaloside IV to support technically substantiated claims. Sainuofang, launching on Douyin as recently as November 2023, reached CN¥ 17.605M in its first rolling year — a demonstration of how Douyin live streaming commerce can compress the timeline from launch to market scale for ingredient-focused brands.

Top-performing astragalus products by revenue (MAT2024):

• Runhuang Astragalus Cream: CN¥ 120M (+660.1% YoY) — hydration, fine line reduction, dullness improvement
• Chunjuan Astragalus Face Cream: CN¥ 64.5M (+35.2% YoY) — high-concentration astragaloside IV, anti-ageing
• Sainuofang Astragalus Cream: CN¥ 17.605M (new Nov 2023) — Gansu Longnan provenance, de-yellowing

The astragalus audience has shifted markedly. Male share rose from 24% to 38% over the past two years, while the 36–50+ cohort increased its share from 38% to 45%. The traditional medicine association appears to lower the cultural barrier to skincare adoption for male consumers and to resonate strongly with older consumers who grew up with astragalus as a health supplement. This dual demographic expansion is structurally different from both purslane (younger, female-dominant) and glabridin (female-dominant with high male penetration via late-night narrative).

Consumer sentiment reaches 94.7% positive — strong, but with a qualitatively significant 5.3% negative share. Unlike the texture-related pain points dominating purslane and glabridin feedback, astragalus negative sentiment centres on counterfeiting: colour discrepancy on arrival, absence of anti-counterfeit markings, and reports of allergic reactions that consumers attribute to fake products. The rapid growth of the category has attracted counterfeit operators, and brands that fail to invest in authentication infrastructure now face compounding reputational risk as the problem scales with sales volume.

Key Takeaways

• Purslane: CN¥ 190M (+97.2% YoY), 3.677M units (+142.7%), 219K social posts (+166.1%), 90.6% positive sentiment — a social-media-led category entering its commercial conversion phase
• Glabridin: CN¥ 890M (+80.1%), 97.2% positive sentiment, Guyu holds 95%+ market share — the most commercially mature segment, with challenger space emerging through TCM-adjacent formulations
• Astragalus: CN¥ 510M (+153.3%), 21.675M units (+244.5%), male share 24% → 38% — the fastest-growing ingredient, dominated by domestic brands, with counterfeiting emerging as the primary commercial risk
• Top single products: Runhuang Astragalus Cream CN¥ 120M (+660.1%); Guyu Glabridin Toner and Lotion Set CN¥ 770M (+105.2%); Zhanyan purslane face mask CN¥ 54.068M (+322.7%)
• BOAM glabridin mask (+387.6%) and Sainuofang astragalus cream (launched Nov 2023) signal that Douyin-native and TCM-adjacent brands can build rapid commercial scale in hot ingredient categories