Forget livestreams. Beauty’s next growth story is short dramas (part one)

This is the first story of a two-part series exploring China’s booming short-drama economy and its implications for the beauty industry. Part two, to be published Friday, examines how brands measure ROI and evaluate performance beyond GMV, as well as where the biggest opportunities lie as the format rapidly evolves. China’s film industry is struggling through one of its most difficult periods in years. Box office receipts have softened, cinemas are fighting to lure audiences back, and producers are searching for the next blockbuster. But another screen economy is thriving. Once associated with low-budget productions and melodramatic storylines, short dramas have become one of China’s fastest-growing entertainment businesses, and beauty brands are following audiences there. QuestMobile data showed China’s short-drama industry reached 718 million monthly active users by February 2026. ByteDance-owned Hongguo alone attracted 304 million monthly users, who spend an average of 125 minutes a day watching serialized content. The industry has expanded just as quickly. At the first Short Drama Industry Conference, held May 11-13 in Changsha and organized by Douyin Group’s Short Drama Copyright Center, organizers revealed that more than 1,100 live-action short dramas had each surpassed one billion views, while the number of content categories grew from 44 last year to 65. Short drama early adopters Beauty and personal care brands have emerged among the earliest adopters. Kans, Marubi, Estée Lauder, L’Oréal and Guerlain have all experimented with short dramas over the past two years, but the campaigns increasingly resemble entertainment projects rather than advertising. Hero products are written into storylines, actors continue their roles inside livestreams, and viewers can purchase featured products without leaving the platform. Instead of interrupting content with commerce, brands are trying to make commerce part of the narrative. As beauty marketers reassess where future growth will come from, livestreaming remains one of China’s most effective conversion channels. However, customer acquisition costs have continued to rise, competition for paid traffic has intensified, and brands are looking for ways to build awareness before consumers begin searching for products. Short dramas promise something different: not simply another source of traffic, but a longer window to establish emotional connection. “Short dramas are not an entirely new marketing format,” says Elsie Zhang, business and client services director at digital marketing agency DLG China. “They represent the latest evolution of branded entertainment, replacing traditional TV dramas and variety show sponsorships as audience attention shifts towards digital-native content.” She points to the combination of entertainment and integrated commerce across platforms including Douyin, Hongguo, Taobao and Xiaohongshu, which has shortened the path from brand discovery to purchase while giving marketers greater flexibility to integrate products naturally into stories. Short dramas complement livestreaming, influencer marketing During this year’s 618 shopping festival, Marubi partnered with the hit Hongguo series 18-Year-Old Great Grandma Returns to Restore Family Glory, embedding its Four-Antioxidant skincare line into the storyline before extending the campaign into livestreams featuring the drama’s cast. According to campaign figures, drama fans contributed 38% of livestream GMV, while overall livestream sales increased more than 38% compared with previous sessions. Estée Lauder adopted a different strategy during the 520 shopping festival, collaborating with Hongguo on an interactive campaign promoting its limited-edition gift set. The campaign reportedly directed more than 400,000 high-quality users into the brand’s livestream and lifted same-day sales by more than seven times. Short dramas’ appeal lies less in replacing existing marketing channels than in complementing them. Livestreaming and influencer marketing remain highly effective at converting demand, but both typically reach consumers who have already entered the purchase journey. Short dramas operate earlier, introducing products through characters, relationships and emotional storylines before audiences begin actively considering a purchase. “I don’t think narrative-driven shopping will replace livestreaming or influencer marketing,” says Antoaneta Becker, director of consumer economy at the China-Britain Business Council. “Livestreaming is designed to convert demand. Short dramas create demand. They build emotional engagement, introduce products within a story and encourage audiences to spend time with a brand before making a purchase.” As audiences spend more time consuming entertainment than advertising, she argues, brands are increasingly competing for attention by producing content consumers actively choose to watch rather than content designed explicitly to sell. From product placement to narrative commerce For much of the past decade, growth was driven by performance marketing. Brands competed for search rankings, invested heavily in livestream traffic and judged campaigns primarily through impressions, clicks and GMV. Short dramas are encouraging marketers to think differently. The objective is no longer only to shorten the purchase path, but to extend the period during which consumers interact with the brand. Whether that approach produces lasting customer relationships remains an open question. James Hebbert, Managing Director at Hylink Digital Solutions Asia-Pacific, believes many campaigns are still operating within a familiar traffic mindset. “In China, short dramas still function mainly as a customer acquisition tool, often replacing one traffic-dependent tactic with another,” he says. “Brands that chase trends and algorithms will win only short-term attention, while those that build distinctive characters, consistent stories and a recognisable brand world can create a lasting asset. Short dramas become sustainable when they build brand memory, not just reach.” The campaigns gaining the most traction share another characteristic: they are built around products that audiences can see working on screen. For now, skincare and colour cosmetics are the natural winners. A brightening serum, long-wear foundation or transfer-proof lipstick can become part of the plot itself, whether a protagonist is preparing for a job interview, a blind date or a long-awaited reunion. Product performance becomes narrative shorthand, compressing what would traditionally require a lengthy demonstration into a few seconds of visual storytelling. “Makeup and skincare have a structural advantage because visible transformations create natural narrative tension and resolution,” says James Hebbert. “Fragrance and wellness require different approaches. Fragrance works through identity, aspiration and emotion, while wellness suits stories of self-improvement and lifestyle change. Ultimately, narrative credibility matters more than category. The product must feel natural within the character’s world.” That helps explain why beauty brands have become some of the most active advertisers in the category. According to TalkingData’s April Brand Short Drama Rankings, beauty and personal care companies occupied seven of the top 10 positions, including Kans, Marubi and Clear. Rather than treating short dramas as another media buy, brands are building campaigns around the format, combining scripted content with livestreams, actor appearances and social media to create multiple consumer touchpoints. The same logic has shaped Hongguo’s commercial ecosystem. Marubi’s 618 campaign moved smoothly from drama episodes to livestreams featuring the cast, while viewers could purchase products without leaving the platform. Instead of separating awareness from conversion, the campaign compressed both into a single viewing experience. Other brands have followed similar playbooks, recognizing that consumers are often more receptive to product recommendations while emotionally invested in a storyline than when confronted with conventional advertising. Why fragrance could be the next big opportunity after makeup Fragrance remains one of beauty’s biggest challenges because scent cannot be demonstrated on screen. Yet short video’s next stage of development could work in fragrance’s favor. “The first wave of short dramas relied heavily on fantasy, revenge plots and dramatic makeovers,” says Becker. “Increasingly, we’re seeing audiences embrace more nuanced narratives centred on everyday relationships, personal growth and modern lifestyles. That creates new opportunities for brands whose value lies less in instant transformation and more in atmosphere, ritual and emotional connection.” Unlike lipstick or foundation, fragrance depends on imagination. A camera cannot communicate scent, but it can communicate memory, intimacy and identity: the emotions that ultimately drive fragrance purchases. “Fragrance cannot be demonstrated online in the way lipstick or foundation can,” Becker says. “Instead, it has to be imagined. Short dramas are uniquely well suited to conveying the mood, memories and emotional context that give a fragrance its meaning.” Once known for exaggerated revenge plots and formulaic romance, the category has expanded into workplace dramas, family stories, slice-of-life narratives and premium productions with significantly higher budgets. As storytelling matures, brands whose appeal depends on aspiration rather than immediate visual results are finding more natural entry points.

Forget livestreams. Beauty’s next growth story is short dramas (part one)

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag

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Forget livestreams. Beauty’s next growth story is short dramas (part one)

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag