From K-Beauty to C-Beauty: Building a Chinese Beauty Brand in America

A Chinese skincare giant is about to land on 400 Ulta shelves — and the test now is whether C-Beauty brands can do what K-Beauty already did: become a lasting part of the U.S. market, not just an import.

Korean beauty brands (“K-Beauty”) took a decade to go from niche import to a fixture at major retailers and platforms, including Sephora, Ulta, Target, Amazon and Costco. Now U.S. consumers are beginning to see another wave: Chinese beauty brands (“C-Beauty”).

In August 2026, PROYA (珀莱雅) — the flagship brand of China’s largest domestic cosmetics group — announced a partnership with Ulta Beauty.

PROYA x Ulta Beauty — Announced August 2026

This November, PROYA’s Advanced Firming and Original Repair collections launch in 400 Ulta Beauty stores nationwide and on Ulta.com. PROYA passed Jahwa in 2024 to become China’s largest homegrown beauty company by revenue.

Ulta’s CEO didn’t downplay it. Asked on the company’s August 27 earnings call about competitive pressure from K-Beauty, Kecia Steelman pointed straight at PROYA:

Kecia Steelman, CEO, Ulta Beauty — August 27, 2026 Earnings Call

“It is not just about K-Beauty anymore. I think C-Beauty is also very, very important to us.”

That’s a notable line from the head of one of the country’s largest beauty retailers. It also confirms something that’s been building for a while: Chinese beauty brands are moving past cross-border e-commerce platforms and specialty shelves and into mainstream U.S. retail.

K-Beauty already proved an Asian beauty category can make that jump. The next question is whether C-Beauty brands can replicate the success — and whether they build something that lasts once they get there.

Selling in America Isn’t the Same as Building a Brand Here

Selling Chinese beauty products to U.S. customers and building a Chinese beauty brand in the U.S. market are two different businesses.

Various e-commerce platforms have already solved the first one. Marketplaces, DTC sites, importers, specialty retailers, and even TikTok — a Chinese company can reach American consumers without ever setting foot here.

Building a brand is harder. It means deciding how U.S. relationships are structured, how IP gets protected, and whether products and marketing can survive U.S. regulators. The U.S. stops being simply an export destination and becomes a market in which the brand intends to build a lasting presence.

Pick Your Entry Strategy on Purpose

There’s no single playbook for entering the U.S. Depending on the goal, that might mean direct retailer and distributor relationships, a U.S. entity, a licensing deal, or a joint venture with a U.S. partner.

The real question isn’t how to get on shelves — plenty of paths do that. It’s how much control you’re willing to give up to get there: over the brand, the distribution, the marketing, the long game.

A local partner brings retail relationships, market knowledge and customer awareness you don’t have yet, and that’s worth something. But the deal should be built for where the brand is going, not just how it gets in the door. Reaching U.S. customers is the easy part. Building something that survives past year one is the actual job.

Lock Down the IP Before You Need It

Protect the brand early — not after the U.S. launch, before it.

A trademark that is well protected in China does not automatically receive the same protection in the U.S. The two countries have separate trademark systems and registration processes. Brands should clear the mark and file it with USPTO before spending real money on U.S. packaging, advertising, and distribution.

We’ve filed trademark applications for Chinese brands for years, mostly to protect names and logos so they could sell safely on Amazon and TikTok Shop. The brands now eyeing Ulta and Sephora are often the same kind of company, one stage further along. A trademark dispute that costs you a marketplace listing is a nuisance. One that costs you a national retail rollout is a crisis.

This gets more important, not less, once a distributor or licensee is in the picture. Put it in writing: who owns the brand and the IP in the U.S., and exactly what a partner is allowed to do with it.

MoCRA Isn’t Optional

There’s a regulatory layer most companies underestimate.

U.S. cosmetics fall under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and since 2022, under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) — which FDA itself calls the biggest expansion of its authority over cosmetics since the FD&C Act became law in 1938.

MoCRA requires facility registration, product listing, safety substantiation, and reporting serious adverse events within 15 business days of learning about them. It also hands FDA broader authority over the industry generally.

Cosmetics specifically is newer ground for the industry. Many of its requirements are only a few years old, and FDA continues to develop the regulatory framework around them. However, our experience handling FDA recalls and import detentions for consumer products has taught us a related lesson: the real cost of getting compliance wrong isn’t the fine. It’s the product sitting in a warehouse or stuck at a port while retailers lose patience.

MoCRA compliance is a market-entry decision, not a cleanup job. Facility registration, product listing, safety substantiation and adverse-event reporting should be built into a Chinese cosmetics brand’s U.S. compliance program from the beginning — not addressed after problems arise.

Labeling matters too. Packaging built for another market often won’t clear U.S. requirements, and the wrong product claim can cause a cosmetic to be regulated as a drug in FDA’s eyes — claims about treating a skin condition or changing how the body functions. If the brand gets this wrong, it can cost more than a warning letter. It costs inventory, distribution, packaging, not to mention retailer trust and consumer trust.

This Is Bigger Than Beauty

C-Beauty is one example of something larger. More Chinese companies are building their own consumer brands, and that pattern won’t stop at cosmetics — expect it in wellness, home goods, fashion, wherever Chinese companies move from manufacturing or cross-border selling toward building consumer brands of their own.

For all of them, the U.S. playbook is the same: understand how business actually gets done here, structure local partnerships (if necessary) carefully, lock down IP, and know the laws that govern the product and how it’s sold. Beauty companies face an additional industry-specific layer: FDA regulation and MoCRA.

Conclusion

PROYA landing in 400 Ulta stores is a milestone. It’s also a preview. The Chinese brands that approach the U.S. as a market in which to build — not simply a destination to sell — are more likely to be the ones still on the shelf five years from now.

Altman & An LLP is a boutique law firm in New York. We advise domestic and international businesses on cross-border transactions, intellectual property, FDA regulatory matters and U.S. market entry.

This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information contained herein may not reflect the most current legal or regulatory developments. For advice specific to your situation, please contact our office directly. © 2026 AA Law. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer:

This publication is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information herein may not reflect the most current legal developments and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultation with qualified legal counsel. Readers should seek professional advice tailored to their specific circumstances.