Vietnamese cosmetics and the escape from sameness issue

More than 90% of cosmetics sold in Vietnam are imported. This figure is not a complaint about policy. It shows the map of a battlefield. Most local brands are entering that fight with the wrong weapons. They improve formulas, cut prices, run more ads. But the real problem lies elsewhere: customers look at the shelf and cannot tell you apart from the ten jars next to you.

The crisis of sameness

Sameness is not a problem unique to Vietnamese cosmetics. But in Vietnam it is more serious, because the barrier to entering the industry is close to zero. Brands share the same OEM contract factories, the same imported raw materials, the same e-commerce marketplaces. When production conditions are the same, the output is bound to be the same. And when products are the same, the only fight left is price.

This is a trap. But it's one you walk into yourself, not one your competitors set. It appears when you have no answer to the question: "Why should customers choose you, if not because you're cheaper?"

Why do customers trust a Korean bottle more than a Vietnamese one?

This question is uncomfortable but needs to be asked directly. When two serum bottles stand next to each other, both with 10% niacinamide and priced at 250,000 VND, customers often choose the one with Korean writing on the label. Not because they have checked the lab. But because the human brain processes visual signals first, then rationalizes afterward.

Korean brands have spent years investing in a consistent identity system. Their packaging is designed for phone screens, their brand language is tightly controlled, and the K-beauty story is told at every touchpoint. This is a brand gap, not a lab gap. That gap can be narrowed, but not by copying.

A brand is not a logo. A brand is the feeling customers have about you.

Marty Neumeier, The Brand Gap

Three layers of identity that imported goods lack

Imported cosmetics have an advantage in recognition, but there is one thing they cannot have: a true Vietnamese story. This is an asymmetric competitive advantage if leveraged correctly.

The first layer is a specific ingredient origin: macadamia butter from Lâm Đồng, pomelo extract from Biên Hòa, coconut oil from Bến Tre, not a generic "Vietnamese nature." Specificity creates a story that cannot be copied, because it is tied to real geography, real growers, and a real harvest season.

The second layer is third-party certification. At a time when customers increasingly scrutinize ingredients and worry about counterfeits, certification from an independent organization is a brand asset, not a cost. Not every brand needs every certification, but you need at least one layer of outside proof to replace self-praise.

The third layer is a consistent identity system. Byron Sharp and the Ehrenberg-Bass team point out that distinctive brand assets, meaning color, shape, and a typeface of your own, only create "mental availability" when they are repeated long enough and consistently enough. A beautiful jar is not a system. A system is what makes customers recognize you even without reading the name.

Cocoon achieves what Thorakao cannot

Thorakao is a long-established Vietnamese cosmetics brand with a stable formula and wide distribution. But looking at the packaging, it feels like stepping into a 1990s corner store. The brand's value is still there. It is just that the identity system has not been updated to speak to today's customers on today's channels.

Cocoon did something different. They chose a specific positioning perspective and kept it consistent: vegan cosmetics from Vietnamese ingredients, with real place names on the label, combined with third-party Leaping Bunny and PETA certifications. The result is a brand that leads the domestic sheet mask segment, with a dominant market share according to the company's self-reported data.

The lesson is not "do what Cocoon did." The lesson is: choose a real angle, narrow enough to own, true enough that no one can copy it, then build the identity system around that angle.

Packaging is the starting point, not the endpoint.

Many Vietnamese cosmetics brands try to solve sameness by redesigning their packaging. It is a necessary step, but not a sufficient one. Good packaging earns the first glance. But if the social media page then speaks in a different language, the e-commerce page uses different photography, and sales advisers pitch in a different way, the "identity system" is really just one beautiful jar standing in a messy environment.

Kapferer describes a brand through six facets: physique, personality, culture, relationship, reflection, and self-image. Most Vietnamese cosmetics brands invest only in the first, then wonder why customers do not stay attached.

Brand identity does not reside in a jar. It exists in the space between what the brand says and what customers feel, at every touchpoint, every encounter.

The practical path for a brand under construction

Not every cosmetics brand needs a large budget to escape sameness. But all must start from strategy, not from color.

• Identify a positioning angle that is narrow enough to own and relevant enough to attract customer interest.
• Build a specific origin story. Don't use words like "natural" or "clean" without evidence to back them up.
• Choose at least one third-party certification that aligns with your positioning, and use it consistently rather than just printing it small at the bottom of the box.
• Build an identity system sufficient for operation: colors, typography, brand language, and consistent product photography across all channels.
• Check the identity on a mobile screen before testing on physical shelves, as that is where customers encounter you for the first time.

The Vietnamese cosmetics market is growing. The window to capture a place in customers' memories is open, but it won't be open forever. Brands that establish a true identity first will be harder to replace later. Brands that wait will continue the price war with no end in sight.