Vietnam's D2C Beauty Market Grows Rapidly — Purchases via TikTok Shop Lead the Charge, With South Korean and Indian Brands Entering One After Another

Vietnam's D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) beauty market is expanding rapidly in 2026. Social commerce centered on TikTok Shop has become the main purchasing channel, with domestic and international brands competing for reach to Vietnam's young consumers. India's Marico agreeing in February to acquire a 75% stake in Vietnamese D2C beauty brand "Candid" for about 4.4 billion yen is a symbolic event that captures this market's growth potential.

The State of Vietnam's Beauty Market Today: Size and Growth Rate

Vietnam's beauty and personal care market is expected to reach about USD 4 billion in 2026, continuing to grow at 12-15% annually. Spending is centered on urban women aged 18-35, with skincare, color cosmetics, and hair care accounting for the largest shares, in that order.

TikTok Shop's Dominance: Live Streaming Drives Impulse Buying

The biggest factor reshaping Vietnam's D2C beauty market is TikTok Shop. The combination of livestreams by beauty influencers (KOLs) and instant purchase functionality creates a buying experience that conventional e-commerce sites cannot match.

That said, TikTok Shop raising its fee to as much as 14.5% starting April 1 is changing the cost structure for brands. The question now is whether it can maintain its position as a premium channel worth paying a higher fee to access.

Strategies of Entering Foreign Brands

South Korean, Indian, and Japanese brands are all accelerating their entry into the Vietnamese market:

• South Korean Brands: Overwhelmingly popular with young women through social media presence and idol collaborations. Innisfree, Some By Mi, and others
• Indian Brands (Marico/Candid): A strategy of absorbing the scale of a local D2C brand
• Japanese Brands:"JK-style" cosmetics and functional skincare are quietly gaining popularity. Inflow through cross-border e-commerce is also increasing

Shifts in Vietnamese Consumers' Beauty Awareness

A preference for natural makeup that shows off healthy-looking skin is a key trend for 2026. Interest in ingredient transparency and clean beauty is also rising, with claims like "paraben-free" and "vegan-certified" directly driving purchase intent.

On Vietnamese social media, hashtags such as "#skincare," "#KBeauty," and "#skincareroutine" consistently rank among the top trends, and consumption of beauty content is among the highest of any genre.

Now Is the Time for Japanese Brands to Enter: An Independent Analysis

The biggest challenge for Japanese brands entering Vietnam's D2C beauty market is "low brand awareness." Unlike Korean cosmetics, which benefit from a clear national brand image, Japanese brands need steady, brand-by-brand content marketing.

At the same time, the opportunity is large. Vietnamese consumers strongly associate "Japanese products" with high quality and safety, and this perception translates especially directly into purchasing behavior in the skincare category. An approach that combines live commerce with content marketing, starting from TikTok Shop, is likely the most cost-effective way to enter.

Across Vietnam's e-commerce market as a whole, sales grew 34.4% year on year to USD 11.6 billion in 2025, and the D2C beauty category is one of the fastest-growing segments within that.

Source:Inc42: D2C Brands India 2026 / Indian Retailer: D2C Trends 2025-26