A stroll through Ulta Beauty will soon reveal a new skincare player: a household name in China that is still largely under the radar in the West.
PROYA, the flagship brand of Proya Cosmetics, has become the first prestige Chinese skincare brand to land a full omnichannel partnership with Ulta Beauty. In November 2026, it will launch its Advanced Firming and Original Repair collections across 400 Ulta Beauty US stores and Ulta.com, marking its official entry into the US market.
For Ulta Beauty, it’s a strategic bet. Proya Cosmetics has ranked as China’s largest beauty company by revenue for three consecutive years, generating $1.5 billion (RMB 10.59 billion) in 2025, largely driven by PROYA. The science-led skincare brand has already begun testing its overseas potential, launching in Guardian stores across Malaysia in April 2026. The deal signals Ulta Beauty’s confidence in PROYA’s potential to translate its success at home into global brand equity.
PROYA’s expansion into Ulta Beauty marks a new phase in C-beauty’s global development, from exporting products through cross-border commerce to building globally recognized brands through mainstream retail. For brands looking to follow, here’s PROYA’s blueprint.
Prior to the Ulta Beauty deal, PROYA did not have official distribution in the US, with products largely available only through cross-border e-commerce sites and Asian beauty resellers. Now, the Chinese skincare leader gains access to the largest specialty beauty retailer in the US, with more than 1,500 stores nationwide alongside Ulta.com and the Ulta Beauty app, according to Yuli Cai, Head of PROYA’s Overseas Business.
This isn’t just about getting in front of more people. Brick-and-mortar, in particular, remains a key platform for beauty discovery, product trial, and personalized expert advice—all of which help introduce an unfamiliar C-beauty brand to new audiences. In the 2025 fiscal year, 73% of Ulta Beauty’s US “Ulta Beauty Rewards” loyalty members transacted solely within stores, underscoring the importance of physical retail in driving discovery and sales.
“This delivers omnichannel reach both online and offline. With an initial launch in 400 stores, paired with Black Friday and Christmas holiday sales seasons, PROYA can rapidly reach American consumers at scale,” Cai told BeautyMatter.
Being in Ulta Beauty, both offline and online, comes with another advantage: credibility. Ulta Beauty is widely recognized for its "extremely rigorous curation standards"; brands must not only meet strict requirements regarding ingredient safety and transparency, product stability and durability, and sustainable packaging, but also demonstrate distinct differentiators and long-term growth potential. The partnership reflects a shared vision between the two companies, aligned on a commitment to science-backed innovation, product quality, and sustainable long-term growth.
“Securing a spot in Ulta Beauty’s global prestige skincare section is in itself authoritative recognition of PROYA’s product quality, R&D capabilities, and brand potential,” Cai said. “For a Chinese beauty brand newly entering the US market, such channel endorsement delivers irreplaceable brand credibility.”
That credibility is further strengthened by Ulta Beauty’s deep understanding of its customers. At the end of fiscal 2025, Ulta Beauty had more than 46 million loyalty club members, responsible for approximately 95% of total sales. Through its loyalty program, the retailer gains first-party data on customer preferences and uses that information to personalize experiences and recommendations that support brand partners like PROYA.
Of course, PROYA isn’t the only one benefiting from this partnership. By tapping the C-beauty pioneer, Ulta Beauty adds a differentiated offering to its prestige skincare portfolio: a brand with distinctly Chinese heritage, proprietary R&D, and a strong science-first positioning.
This combination of all three matters. Ulta Beauty already carries several skincare brands with science- or ingredient-focused positioning. However, PROYA showcases a China-specific approach to skincare, combining advanced ingredient research and patented technologies to create products that are effective, gentle, and balanced—and constantly advancing.
Proya Cosmetics’ broad innovation infrastructure supports this unique proposition, spanning three R&D centers in Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Paris, as well as frequent collaborations with Chinese universities and medical institutions.
“Leveraging the three global R&D centers of Proya Cosmetics, we have built an innovation network of local demand response and global technological collaboration,” Cai said. “Following the launch of our initial product lineup, we will systematically collect skin condition data and consumer feedback from US users to deliver scientific evidence for subsequent product refinements.”
At the same time, Ulta Beauty continues to ride the wave of interest in Asian beauty in the West. American consumers have shown their openness to trying more innovative Asian skincare concepts as evidenced by K-beauty’s mainstream success, with sales reaching $2 billion in the US in 2025, according to NielsenIQ. Ulta Beauty stated in a December 2025 earnings call that its expanded K-beauty assortment “continues to resonate and drive skincare sales,” and the retailer even launched a curated K-beauty retail concept on Ulta Beauty Marketplace in March 2026.
Although C-beauty is still considered niche in the US, embracing the category early gives Ulta Beauty an edge over competitors, keeps its assortment fresh, and, like K-beauty, potentially unlocks a new driver of skincare sales.
Beyond retail expansion, PROYA has a bigger goal: to earn a lasting place in daily skincare routines by addressing specific concerns with science-backed solutions.
According to a 2025 survey by Euromonitor International, global beauty consumers now define premium products by visible results, medical-grade formulations, and clinical credibility. The Benchmarking Company’s August 2025 survey of US female buyers similarly finds that when it comes to purchasing, consumers are most driven by proven efficacy, with 46% citing consumer or clinical claims, 34% fast results, and 33% dermatologist testing or recommendations.
The two PROYA collections launching at Ulta Beauty were chosen with these evolving preferences in mind. Both feature potent yet gentle formulas. The Advanced Firming collection, for instance, reduces the appearance of lines and wrinkles, tackling “industry pain points” such as low transdermal penetration while delivering a gentle and stable user experience, Cai explained. Meanwhile, Original Repair draws on 11 years of research into basement membrane repair, combining both barrier support and collagen care to satisfy US consumers’ growing preference for multifunctional skincare.
Looking ahead, PROYA plans to gradually introduce additional products based on consumer feedback and local skin-type characteristics.
All in all, PROYA is taking a differentiated approach to the US. More than just products, it aims to bring its brand philosophy and proprietary research system to market, ultimately building a truly global brand.
And the Ulta Beauty partnership plays a pivotal role in this ambition. As Cai detailed, PROYA will leverage Ulta Beauty’s store network and membership data to improve brand storytelling, efficacy communication, and consumer experiences. It will also gain key insights into full workflows, from overseas product regulatory to after-sales services, and learn how to deploy product, marketing, and brand strategies in mature beauty markets.
“Our partnership with Ulta Beauty marks a critical milestone in our global expansion,” she said. “On the one hand, collaboration with Ulta Beauty secures endorsement from America’s mainstream premium retail channel, amplifying PROYA’s international brand influence and granting us strategic leverage for future market expansion and diversified channel partnerships. On the other hand, accumulated expertise in retail partnerships, consumer insights, and supply chain compliance will empower our subsequent entry into other overseas markets.”
This approach could offer a roadmap for other C-beauty brands looking to go abroad, demonstrating how to translate products and brand stories for local audiences and to set up operational and retail systems for long-term growth.
Come November, PROYA will be put to the test. It won’t just be how well products sell but whether PROYA can build lasting brand equity in the US. Should it prove successful, the Ulta Beauty partnership could mark the start of bigger schemes to accelerate C-beauty’s journey into the global mainstream.
