(Yicai Global) Sept. 25 -- China's cosmeceutical industry has embarked upon a period of rapid development in recent years, and its market scale reached nearly USD7.5 billion (CNY50 billion) last year, an industry insider told Yicai Global.

Though China's cosmeceutical market is large, few brands wield real influence and exert strong word-of-mouth appeal, Guo Zhenyu, chairman and chief executive of Kunming Winona Biological Technology Co., recently told Yicai Global in an interview.

The domestic cosmeceutical market last year was nearly four times that of 2009 and is still expected to grow by more than 20 percent in the next few years.

Cosmeceuticals represent a very professional field with high industry barriers, and they cannot be produced by just finding a few original equipment manufacturers (OEM), Guo said. Succeeding without a strong scientific research team is impossible, since cosmeceuticals must be secure and universal in their effect on skin, as well as having medical efficacy.

Most foreign cosmeceuticals are developed using white-skinned women as research and test subjects, and this is not entirely suitable for Chinese consumers, in Guo's view.

Guo believes the biggest advantages domestic enterprises have lie in the resources of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Domestic brands should play the TCM card well and conduct basic research when competing with multinational enterprises.