Mitsui to Invest in Kao's Brazil Subsidiary

Mitsui has subscribed to new quotas in Kao's wholly owned subsidiary in Brazil, TBP Importação e Comércio de Cosméticos LTDA., with a view to expanding business in Brazil.
 
The companies signed a Quota Subscription Agreement under which the investment ratio will be 70% for Kao and 30% for Mitsui. The arrangement is expected to go into effect in April 2023 after CADE (Brazilian antitrust) approval.

The World’s Fourth Largest Beauty & Personal Care Market

Brazil is the world's fourth-largest beauty and personal care market. With new consumption behavior becoming established among the growing middle-income earner class and Gen Z consumers, this market is projected to post a yearly growth rate of 7.7%, predicts Euromonitor International. Kao and Mitsui have had a tie-up for sales and marketing of Kao's Bioré skin care brand since 2017 and have also carried out trial sales as part of market research. This research has indicated Brazilian consumers' strong acceptance of the Bioré brand, leading the two companies to become partners and begin sales in earnest. The companies will expand this business further, and products may be manufactured locally.
 
Kao and Mitsui plan to work together in the beauty and personal care field, mainly in emerging economies, and will also explore how they can further expand their partnership in their areas of interest.
 
Kao intends to increasingly focus on its skin care business. Working together with outside partners, the company aims to accelerate growth of its business to deliver better products and services to consumers.