A brand about to launch
- The formula is ready, and you are choosing a name and ordering boxes
- Not yet clear who you sell to or at what price tier
- Do this first
- Settle the positioning and identity system before ordering boxes, bottles and labels.
Cosmetics and personal care
Brand design for the cosmetics industry
A good formula is not enough. Customers have to trust it before they put it on their skin.
Before they have tried it, customers can only trust the box, the label and the photo. Sinh Vũ makes those speak truthfully about the real quality of your formula.
Industry landscape01
Where does the cosmetics industry stand in Vietnam?
Imported goods make up most product notifications, so a Vietnamese brand has to sit beside Korean, Japanese and European ones on the same shelf. From 2026, advertising rules are also tighter.
nearly USD 2.7 billion
size of the Vietnamese cosmetics market in 2021, per Euromonitor International (the USD 3.5 billion figure for 2026 is a forecast, not an achieved number)
Source: Sài Gòn Giải Phóng newspaper, citing Euromonitor, 21 Apr 202470%
share of cosmetics product notifications that are imported goods by count, out of 296,116 notifications from 2015 to 2022 (counted by notification, not by sales)
Source: Sài Gòn Giải Phóng newspaper, 21 Apr 202415 Feb 2026
Decree 342/2025/ND-CP takes effect: cosmetics advertising may not use the images, attire or names of medical facilities, doctors, pharmacists or medical staff
Source: Decree 342/2025/ND-CP, Article 4, clause 4Advantages
- Customers are open to Vietnamese brandsYoung shoppers are happy to try a local brand if it looks trustworthy.
- Local ingredients are a true storyHerbs, fruit and growing regions at home are something imported brands don't have.
- Repurchase follows a cycleWhen a product runs out, people buy again. Earn trust once and you keep the customer.
Challenges
- Standing beside importsCustomers compare Vietnamese packaging with Korean and Japanese on the same screen.
- Easy to fall into the sameness trapWhite ground, thin type, green leaves: ten brands with one look.
- Claims can't be made freelyCosmetics are not medicine. Every claim must stay within the notified scope.
Profiles02
Which stage are you at?
Each stage has its own brand problem. Once you know yours, you know what to do first.
A brand that sells well online and wants to get on shelves
- Sales come through influencers, and buyers rarely remember the name
- Retail chains ask for a company file and shelf-ready packaging
- Do this first
- Build what is distinctly yours, so customers remember the brand, not just the person who recommended it.
A brand with many product lines
- Each line launched with a different style of box
- Customers don't see that the products come from one house
- Do this first
- Build a shared packaging system: a fixed part that says one house, a changing part that tells the lines apart.
A contract factory that wants its own brand
- Years of making products for other people
- Real production capacity but no name yet
- Do this first
- Find what you are truly good at in your production capability, then build the name and look from it.
Pain points03
Six pain points design can fix
Design can't replace the formula. But it can fix the pain points that make customers scroll past without adding to cart.
Looks like an import, but not as good as one
Packaging borrows Korean or Japanese shapes; customers see a near copy and pick the original.
Find a real point of difference, then build the packaging around it so customers remember.
Start from this problemA good formula, but the packaging says the wrong thing
A premium product in a box that looks cheap, or the other way around.
Choose material, color and print method to match the price and the user.
Start from this problemEvery product line has a different face
Your own shelf looks like it belongs to three brands.
One frame system: shared color, type and layout; each line gets its own mark.
Start from this problemProduct photos differ on every channel
Marketplace, social media and shelf each show a different tone.
One brand photo set and a frame standard for each channel.
Start from this problemAd copy that runs into the law
Posts that promise to cure acne or melasma, or that use a doctor's image.
Speak with what can be verified: ingredients, sourcing, where it is made, how it feels to use.
Start from this problemThe brand doesn't stay after the campaign
Customers buy for the celebrity, and when the campaign stops, sales stop.
Build a voice and a look of your own, so the person recommending is only the guide.
Start from this problemCustomer journey04
Where do customers decide to buy?
Customers go through five stages before buying a second time. Wherever the brand falls short, that is where the customer is lost.
Noticing
Scroll videos, watch others use a product, walk past a shelf.
Common mistakeThe packaging blends into dozens of brands with the same look.
Researching
Read the ingredients, read reviews, compare with other brands.
Common mistakeIngredient information is hard to read, and photos differ from place to place.
Buying
Add to cart, pick a free gift.
Common mistakeNo visible reason to pay more than for a similar product.
Unboxing and using
Receive the order, open the box, apply it to the skin.
Common mistakeThe unboxing doesn't match the price, and the bottle is awkward to use.
Buying again
Run out, look for the same product, recommend it to people they know.
Common mistakeCustomers like it but can't remember the name to find it again.
Segments05
Eight segments, eight ways to build trust
Skincare sells confidence in ingredients, makeup sells inspiration, fragrance sells memory, natural cosmetics sell transparency. Each segment has its own page going deeper into pain points and methods.
Skincare
- Cleansers, toners
- Serums, moisturizers
- Sunscreen
Trust signalsClear ingredients, clear directions, no overpromising.
- Overstating benefits is a violation
- Easy to look like a Korean brand
Makeup
- Lipstick
- Foundation, cushion
- Eyeshadow palettes
Trust signalsTrue color, as good as in the photo.
- Short collection life cycles
- Off-color photos mean returns
Haircare
- Shampoo, conditioner
- Hair oils
- Salon products
Trust signalsRight for each person's hair problem.
- A big bottle can look like a cheap supermarket brand
- Hard to stand apart from big brands
Body care
- Body wash
- Body lotion
- Hand cream
Trust signalsScent and the feel on the skin.
- Hard to talk about scent on a screen
- Easy to be priced against mass-market goods
Fragrance
- Women's perfume
- Men's cologne
- Scented candles, room fragrance
Trust signalsA scent story and a bottle worth keeping.
- Online buyers can't smell it
- Vietnamese brands struggle to sell at a high price
Natural cosmetics
- Herbal skincare
- Handmade soap
- Plant-based oils
Trust signalsTransparent sourcing and process.
- Everyone says natural
- Calling a product organic without grounds is easily misleading
Men's cosmetics
- Hair pomade
- Men's face wash
- Beard care
Trust signalsCompact, clear, quick to use.
- Men shy away from products that look too fussy
- The customer base is still small
Personal and household hygiene
- Hand wash
- Toothpaste
- Family soap and body wash
Trust signalsSafe for the whole family, for daily use.
- Crowded off the shelf by big consumer brands
- Customers buy on promotion
What changes06
What changes with Sinh Vũ alongside you?
Sinh Vũ doesn't promise a revenue number. Its job is to bring the brand up to the level of the formula, so customers trust it sooner.
Customers think it is a knockoff of an import
Customers recognize a Vietnamese brand with its own face
Sales stop when the campaign stops
Customers remember the name and look for it again
A new line breaks the old image
A new line follows the ready-made frame and is still recognized as the same house
Hesitant about retail chain shelves
Packaging and company file meet the standard to negotiate shelf space
Roadmaps07
The right services for each scale
Three roadmaps by scale. Every roadmap does the core first, and the rest only when it is really needed.
Getting started
Suits: Brands about to launch, factories building a brand of their own
What you receivePositioning, a name and logo if needed, color, type, and packaging for the first product line.
Stepping up
Suits: Brands already selling that want to reach shelves or move up a tier
- Brand health audit
- Building brand voice
- Logo and Brand Identity Design
- Product and brand photography
- Advertising campaign image design
What you receiveKeep what customers already know, raise the rest; add a brand voice, a photo set and campaign visuals.
Systematizing
Suits: Brands with many product lines
What you receiveBrand guidelines and a packaging frame system for the whole range; monthly support as new lines launch.
Projects08
What Sinh Vũ has done in the industry and nearby ones
Callidora is the skincare project Sinh Vũ has published. The healthcare, jewelry and consumer packaging projects solve the same problem of trust and a premium look.
Callidora, beauty from the root
Callidora, a skincare cosmetics brand, had Sinh Vũ build a feminine, premium identity system that keeps its promise of beauty from healthy skin from the very first glance.
View case
Feminine and premium without cliché.
MEDI Plus, care built into a system
MEDI Plus is a new kind of medical complex, where patients are cared for gently from the very first moment. Sinh Vũ built the face and the digital nervous system for the clinic…
View case
Professional trust spoken through care, not through promises.
2009LiuGems, eight colours holding one form
LiuGems sells natural-stone jewellery to people who believe minerals carry energy, a trade where beauty tends to arrive improvised and promises tend to run ahead of proof…
View case
Eight product lines, one shared face.
One die-cut, a whole identity system
A packaged consumer goods portfolio with many lines, all going to shelf from one shared die-cut: Sinh Vũ built the logo system, identity and packaging…
View case
One die-cut template used across the whole packaging system.
Further reading09
More on cosmetics and personal care
Perspectives
Vietnamese cosmetics and the escape from sameness issueWhen 90% of cosmetic shelves are filled with imported goods, Vietnamese brands need more than just good formulas.…Read The packaging is misleading customers about the value of your productGood formulation but packaging sends the wrong segment signal. Four common design mistakes that lead customers to…Read Influencers can drive sales, but they do not build memoryAnalyzing why Vietnamese local cosmetics brands depend on KOLs and disappear when budgets run out, and the way out of…ReadExpertise
Cosmetic packaging: structure, label compliance, and design processGuide to selecting packaging structure for skincare and beauty products, from airless pumps, dropper bottles to…Read The premium feel lies in tactile experience, not just in the materials.The premium feel does not come from the most expensive material but from the combination of material, surface…Read Is the name and logo similar?Check for potential duplicates before finalizing a name and logo to avoid costly rework. This article explains how to…ReadThe principles behind it
- 2.01The category sets the visual rules more than individual personality does; to be different you must know which rules are the entry ticket and which are mere habit.
- 2.02A difference is real only when buyers can see it in one glance at a real point of sale, not on a positioning comparison chart.
- 2.03Map the category rules with photographs of products where they are actually sold, then mark what they have in common.
FAQ10
Frequently asked questions
At minimum: positioning, logo, color, type and packaging for the first product line. With several lines you also need a packaging frame system and brand guidelines.
Settle the brand first. Boxes, bottles and die-cut tooling ordered in bulk are the costliest things to fix.
A label must carry the content required by cosmetics regulations and goods labeling rules. Leave room for it from the start, then check the current regulations before printing.
From 15 Feb 2026, cosmetics advertising may not use the images, attire or names of medical facilities, doctors, pharmacists or medical staff (Article 4, clause 4 of Decree 342/2025/ND-CP), and may not suggest the product is a medicine (clause 2). Have your company's lawyer review the final version.
Find what is truly yours: local ingredients, the way it is made, the people who make it. Then build color, type and packaging material around that instead of following whatever is selling.
The design phase usually takes a few weeks, not counting sampling and production. Timing for each item is on the matching service page.
Callidora, a skincare brand. Close to the industry are MEDI Plus (healthcare), LiuGems (jewelry) and a consumer goods packaging project.
Tell Sinh Vũ about your product
A few lines about your product and what is holding you back is enough. Sinh Vũ will read it and reply within one working day.
Principles
The craft rules behind this industry
Every industry already has visual rules that buyers use to recognise the category. Three principles from the Sinh Vũ craft doctrine decide which of those rules to keep and where to differ.
- 2.01PrincipleThe category sets the visual rules more than individual personality does; to be different you must know which rules are the entry ticket and which are mere habit.
- 2.02PrincipleA difference is real only when buyers can see it in one glance at a real point of sale, not on a positioning comparison chart.
- 2.03PracticeMap the category rules with photographs of products where they are actually sold, then mark what they have in common.