Hou Juncheng is the founder and chairman of PROYA Cosmetics, and the beauty entrepreneur who helped turn a homegrown company into one of China’s largest cosmetics companies. Born in Wenzhou and based in Hangzhou, he has spent nearly three decades in the beauty industry.

He founded PROYA in 2003, when international brands dominated the Chinese market, and committed the company to building its own research and manufacturing capabilities. Through successive shifts in branding, distribution and digital transformation, he took PROYA to the A-share main board in 2017, making it the first domestic beauty company listed there. In 2024, it became the first Chinese beauty company to surpass RMB 10 billion in annual revenue, reaching RMB 10.7 billion.

PROYA now operates R&D centers in Hangzhou, Shanghai and Paris, supported by a research team of nearly 400. Its scientific credentials have also gained international recognition. In 2025, PROYA became the first Chinese cosmetics company to receive an IFSCC Top 10 Podium Fundamental Research Award. In 2026, the company followed with the IFSCC Podium Fundamental Research Award, marking a second consecutive year of recognition at the global cosmetics science congress.

Hou also serves as Chief Advisor to the China Beautéville Management Committee, where he has helped attract more than 340 companies to the cluster since 2015, and as vice chairman of the China Association of Fragrance Flavor and Cosmetic Industries.