LONDON — Fujifilm may be best known in Europe as a purveyor of film and digital cameras, but the Tokyo-based firm aims to make a name for itself in the region’s competitive market for high-end, effective cosmetics.
Fujifilm has already established a beauty business in its native Japan, having launched Astalift, an anti-aging skin care line, there in 2007. Now, Astalift is the fourth-largest skin care brand domestically, registering wholesale revenues of more than 100 million euros, or $134.6 million at current exchange, according to the company. In 2010, Fujifilm introduced Astalift to China, and starting in February the brand will bow in France, followed by launches in the U.K., Germany and Spain later in 2012.
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The active ingredients in the Astalift line’s formula are collagen and astaxanthin, an antioxidant derived from seaweed. Andrzej Brylak, director of Fujifilm’s European health and beauty division, which has been established to oversee the brand’s European launch, noted collagen is an area of expertise for the company, as it’s a component of film.
“One of the problems with photography [is] anti-oxidization — how to protect the picture, the colors, how to preserve the material and fight with oxygen,” said Brylak. “And this is also one of the problems with the skin.”
Fujifilm has developed nanotechnology to offer targeted delivery of collagen and antioxidants through specific layers of the skin, according to the company. Brylak noted that another major area of Fujfilm’s business is life sciences and pharmaceuticals, and one of its research and development department’s focuses has been the targeted delivery of ingredients to different parts of the body.
Fujifilm’s business now encompasses film and digital cameras, office products and printers, medical systems and pharmaceutical research and development. The company, which recorded revenues of $23 billion in 2010, began diversifying its offer in 2000, after sales of film started to decline with the introduction of digital technology.
The Astalift line that will bow in Europe is to be broadly similar to the existing collection in Japan. It will range from cleansers through to the brand’s signature product, Astalift Jelly Aquarysta, an anti-aging gel-like serum. Prices will start at about 20 pounds, or $31, for a 120–ml. cleanser and rise to 70 pounds, or $110, for the 40-ml. Jelly Aquarysta product. Brylak said Astalift is to target European women aged 35 to 50 “who appreciate technology and want cosmetics to work.” While retailers to carry the collection haven’t yet been confirmed, Brylak said the brand will have select distribution in major department stores. Ultimately, Fujifilm aims for its cosmetics division to become a major global player, Brylak said. When the products launch in Europe, the company plans to launch an Astalift e-commerce Web site in order to communicate the brand’s values to consumers and to engage with customers on social media prior to the introduction. While the company expects eventually to enter the U.S. market, it is initially focusing on Europe, Brylak said.
David Honey, general manager for Fujifilm, said beyond Astalift, the company envisions introducing more cosmetics products into Europe in the future. In Japan, Fujifilm has another skin care brand, Nanofilt, and an Astalift foundation, which employs the company’s know-how to stabilize the way light reflects off skin under different lighting conditions.
“I think cosmetics and skin care will form an important part of [Fujifilm’s] future and is only going to grow,” said Honey. “In the future there is a tremendous market potential for health and well-being products, particularly ones that really work and make you look good for longer.”
While Honey declined to give sales predictions, he said that the aim in the U.K. is for Astalift to gain 2 percent share of the premium skin care market, which the company estimates to be at 200 million pounds, or $314 million.
“The most important thing for us is to get consumer acceptance of Fujifilm doing this and brand acceptance that Astalift is a product that really works,” said Honey.