Japanese Cosmetics Focus: Hacci (Available in Taiwan from October)

(images from hacci1912.com)

According to this Facebook post, Japanese beauty brand Hacci will be launched in Taiwan on October 1st. I have noticed that Hacci has been receiving more and more media coverage in Japan in the last couple of years due to its continuous releases of new products and its increasing availability in upmarket department stores. I thought I’d talk about this brand before its international debut.

Launched in 2005, Hacci has been exploring the benefits of honey. (“Hacci” (“ハッチ”) presumably comes from the Japanese word “ハチ”, which means “bee”.) The brand carries beauty products (skincare, bodycare and haircare) and food items (table honey, sweets and supplements), and the two are of equal importance for the brand. (In Mitsukoshi Ginza in Tokyo and Hankyu Umeda in Osaka, Hacci has counters in both the cosmetics department and the food department.)

Among Hacci’s launch lineup is the multi-purposed Beauty Honey (40g (¥3700) & 140g (¥5500)). It can be used as a face mask, a lip moisturizer and a lip gloss, and it can also be added to skincare and haircare products. Currently it features four formulations: Honey with Vitamin C & Silk Peptide, Honey with Hyaluronic Acid, Honey with Flavangenol & Collagen and Honey with Royal Jelly.

Released in 2008, Honey Soap has been one of the brand’s most popular items. Containing 10% honey, it is currently available in three sizes: 80g (standard size, ¥4800), 120g (value size, ¥6500) and 5g (travel size, sold in sets of four, ¥1600).

In 2012, Hacci collaborated with Disney and released limited-edition boxes for Honey Soap (80g and 5g). (There have also been numerous other cute and pretty boxes for the brand’s star item. Image-search “Hacci” to have a look.) In the same year, the brand also launched bodycare and haircare products. The new products along with the Disney collaboration increased Hacci’s visibility.

(images from i-voce.jp)

I like the look of Hacci’s products. It is simply, elegant, and classy. I also like the fact that it is using honey as a key ingredient. In skincare products, it is a beneficial ingredient, with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Unlike Les Merveilleuses de Ladurée or THREE, Hacci’s international venture is a little unexpected for me since it is not a high-profile brand and it only carries a relatively small number of products. However, the brand is certainly not unknown to fans of Japanese beauty products outside Japan and it has obviously seen potential beyond the domestic market.

With its first retail point at Sogo (Zhongxiao Branch) in Taipei, which has one of the best cosmetics departments in Taiwan, and the store’s anniversary event in November (with tempting discounts and offers), Hacci can potentially do very well in the launch period.

Updated on October 15th, 2015:

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