Watsons and P&G create new skincare brand for Greater China

Procter & Gamble and A.S. Watson Group have launched Aio, a "Japan skincare brand" that will be available in physical and online Watsons stores in Greater China.

The companies said customers are looking for "an aesthetic life with simplicity"; they want simple yet effective solutions to breakouts and imperfections, but they also value sustainable packaging and ingredients. 

"This is a P&G Beauty first breakthrough collaboration with a retail partner to co-create a new skincare brand from scratch," Markus Strobel, global president of P&G Skin & Personal Care, said in a release.

The brand, debuting in Hong Kong and Taiwan, aims to attract Gen Z and millennial buyers and is designed with fully recyclable packaging.

"Starting from figuring out the customers’ needs, to product design and brand building, Aio is the result of close collaboration between A.S. Watson Group and P&G," said Malina Ngai, CEO of A.S. Watson (Asia & Europe) and group chief operating officer. "Our seamless O+O (offline plus online) platforms and sophisticated customer insights will help Aio to open new markets.

"With its philosophy of ‘simple sophisticated’, I truly believe Aio will be loved by customers with its unique proposition, refreshing design and great product performance,” she added.

The brand's Super Essence product comes in “neo-mint” packaging and has a "matcha-coloured, jelly-like texture [that] offers a relaxing smell of Kyoto woods".

L-R: Yvette Fan, vice president and managing director, Procter & Gamble Hong Kong; Malina Ngai, CEO of A.S. Watson (Asia & Europe) and group chief operating officer.