British Beauty Council Debuts in China with Flagship Festival

The British Beauty Council has launched its first international event with the inaugural British Beauty Festival in Shanghai, signing a strategic licensing partnership with Chrysalis Beauty to run the festival across Greater China.

Under the agreement, Chrysalis Beauty becomes the exclusive master licensee for the festival in the region. The Council said the deal formalises a longer-term plan to take the British Beauty Festival to other international markets, with China as its first chapter.

The inaugural edition is backed by the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT), which has provided financial support for the 2026 event and will be represented at the opening ceremony and Awards Gala Dinner. Sohail Shaik, deputy commissioner at DBT, said the Chinese beauty and personal care market was now estimated at almost £60 billion in retail value, and represented a significant opportunity for British brands offering innovation, heritage and trusted quality.

The festival opened with an Awards Gala Dinner on 22 April and is structured across three Shanghai venues. Phase One (23 to 30 April) takes over Jiuguang Department Store in Jing'An District with the British Bloom Garden, a public pop-up running brand showcases, sampling activations and KOL visits. Phase Two moves to Shanghai Village in May with a brand showcase inside The Apartment, the centre's VIP space, which serves a membership of 80,000. Phase Three (10 to 31 May) lands at Lane Crawford, with brand displays and dedicated live-streaming facilities on the third floor.

More than twenty British beauty brands are taking part across skincare, fragrance, haircare, colour, wellness and beauty tech, including Elemis, Eve Lom, Jo Malone London, Sarah Chapman, Neal's Yard Remedies, Floris, Fortnum & Mason, Pixi, UKLash, Votary, Nailberry, Balmonds, Wildsmith Skincare and Noble Isle. The Council said several of the brands are making their China market debut through the festival.

Millie Kendall OBE, chief executive of the British Beauty Council, said the project had moved from a one-off event to a longer-term commitment. "The British Beauty Festival is exactly the kind of initiative the British Beauty Council exists to support. What began as a bold proposition for China has demonstrated the appetite that exists for British beauty internationally," she said. "We are delighted to stand behind this Festival for the long term and to work with Chrysalis Beauty to take it to audiences across the country."

Miriam Bray, founder and chief executive of Chrysalis Beauty, said the festival had started from a specific belief in what British beauty could do in the Chinese market. "The support of the UK Department for Business and Trade was instrumental in turning that vision into reality, and the British Beauty Council's backing gave it the platform it deserved. This long-term partnership is the next chapter, and Shanghai is just the beginning," she said.

The launch is the most ambitious overseas push the British Beauty Council has made since its founding, and lands at a point when British brands are looking past the post-Brexit drag on European trade towards growth in Asia. China remains a complex market for prestige and indie beauty alike, with cross-border e-commerce, KOL-led discovery and bricks-and-mortar luxury retail all operating on different rules to the UK. Pairing a state-backed trade body with a local operator that already runs Joyce Beauty in mainland China gives the festival a route into all three.