Alibaba is putting clean beauty front and center for its big Singles’ Day shopping festival on Nov. 11.
A majority of the seven winners of the Chinese web giant’s Pitch Fest came from the clean beauty world, underscoring Alibaba’s interest and the category’s global momentum.
In the Pitch Fest, Alibaba selects small- and medium-sized U.S. brands to fast track onto its Tmall marketplace for the Singles’ Day event, which last year drove $74.1 billion in gross merchandise volume.
Winning brands receive “hands-on advice on how to grow their business in China” and are launched on Tmall Global through Alibaba’s Overseas Fulfillment program.
“Tmall Global will provide the brands with marketing advice and exposure to boost brand awareness, such as participating in a dedicated livestreaming session in the lead-up to 11.11,” the marketplace said.
The winners this year include:
- Basq NYC, a maternity skin care brand looking for a natural audience.
- Boscia, a skin care brand that makes nontoxic, cruelty-free vegan cleansers, masks, moisturizers and serums.
- Honey Girl Organics, a clean, cruelty-free skin care brand.
- Schmidt’s, which makes Ecocert Cosmos Natural-certified deodorant.
- Vegamour, a vegan and cruelty-free brand focusing on “hair wellness.”
- SBLA, a skin care brand targeting the neck.
- And the sole, non-beauty winner, Bella Belle, a bridal and special occasion shoe brand that balances comfort and style.
Anthony Maxfield, co-founder of Hawaii-based Honey Girl, said: “Tmall Global’s Pitch Fest is an opportunity to gain traction in China, something we’ve always been interested in. People in China are looking for clean and natural products as a good value, and a little bit of our product goes a long way.”
The contest not only gives smaller U.S. brands a chance to appeal to Chinese consumers, it also gives the e-commerce company a chance to appeal to a global brand base. Alibaba has been working to bring in U.S. suppliers, which sold $54 million in goods through the company’s platforms last year.
Alibaba has been chasing not just U.S. brands, but fashion generally.
The company said over 200 luxury brands are taking part in the Singles’ Day festivities this year.
Brands are also working with Alibaba as they seek to bridge the physical-digital divide.
The Tmall Luxury Pavilion, for instance, collaborated with Burberry, Balmain, Longines, Coach, La Perla and Emporio Armani to create its first digital art gallery in the metaverse.
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Source: WWD