Kao pushes Kanebo's 'Progress Care' line further upmarket with a second round of emulsion and cream
Kanebo began selling a second round of its prestige 'Progress Care' skincare line this week, rolling out across 11 Asian markets alongside Japan.
Kao's Kanebo brand began selling a second round of products in its "Progress Care" skincare line on September 4, rolling out across Japan and, in stages, 11 countries and regions where Kanebo is sold, the company said in a statement.
The line-up is a beauty emulsion, "Replenishing Charms," priced at ¥15,400 for the 110ml bottle and ¥14,850 for the refill (tax included), and a quasi-drug cream, "Repairing Energies," at ¥33,000 for the 50g jar and ¥31,350 for the refill.
It is the second instalment of Progress Care, following a toner launched in January, and Kao held a launch event in Bangkok to introduce the products to influencers and consumers from across the region, the company said. Kanebo frames the Progress Care concept around treating ageing as a form of personal growth rather than decline.
The nearly three-month gap between the original announcement and the actual on-sale date, together with the Bangkok event and the simultaneous 11-market rollout, points to Kao leaning on Kanebo's prestige tier to chase growth outside Japan, where the brand's duty-free and cross-border e-commerce channels already do meaningful volume — a bet that puts more of the line's growth expectation on Asian appetite for premium J-beauty than on the domestic counter alone.