China essential oils market (Survey)

$530M

China essential oils market in 2024

+11%/yr

growth heading toward $1.3B by 2033

aromatherapy grows near double the global rate

Before the details, a quick hello. I am Jon Wang, and I help foreign wellness brands grow in China without wasting money. The essential oils market here is small today but rising fast, and the brands that build trust now will own it later. Let me show you what the numbers say and how to win shelf and screen space.

A full report about the essential oil Market in China with Tips to sell online or via distributors.
Essential oils are trendy products on Tmall (leading e-Commerce platform in China).

with pandemic , Chinese want to make their home “CLEAN” and it answers to this needs.

What are essential oils?

Essential oils are typical natural products extracted from different plant species. There are plenty of plant species from which essential oils are extracted. For instance, leaves, flowers, fruits, and stems.

Today we are going to talk about the essential oil market in China, but first, we must introduce the trend of this essential oils market.

Because of their mysterious and beautiful functions, they have always been considered luxury items exclusively enjoyed by royals and nobles, so they are called “soft gold”.

So it is extremely important for consumers to know how essential oils are implemented in the Chinese market.

Essential oils market in China

During these years, many markets in China have reached a high level of development. As Chinese people are trying to follow a better lifestyle, they are also looking for high-quality products.

Due to the development of the country, most of Chinese customers have tried a lot of new brand products, specially local brands products but also foreign products. These days, they choose to spend money on which is worth it.

Nowadays, there is a huge demand in the Chinese essential oils market. In fact, this market developed in 2014 due to the fact that sales reached 10.3 billion yuan. That’s why Chinese consumers have demonstrated consciousness of healthcare and beautiful caring.

Why the essential oils market is growing in China? There are two reasons. First, there are many users based in the Chinese skincare market and the demand is keeping increasing. The number of females who purchase essential oils is constantly increasing.

Secondly, essential oil products were underdeveloped; there is still huge market potential in the skincare market.

Challenges to getting essentials Oil into Mainstream in China

China has always been one of the most important suppliers in the world’s fragrance industry. However, the production and consumption of essential oils have always been in a state of lack.

Many small manufacturers are eager to grab short-term benefits, causing chaos in the Chinese essential oil market. On the other hand, the consumer market, despite its huge potential, has a single form and a weak brand awareness.

For a period of time, consumers’ consumption of essential oil products is mostly concentrated in professional spas, beauty, and skincare places, and most of the relevant essential oil brands are sold in these professional places.

From this perspective, essential oil products have caused the status quo of the Chinese consumer market due to their own product characteristics and the limited consumer awareness of them.

How do advertise and sell essential oils in China?

First of all, you definitely need a Chinese website to get people to know about essential oils. The website must be hosted in China. Furthermore, the content must be adapted to Chinese consumers’ tastes.

Chinese people are well known to spend the majority of their time online visiting numerous websites. As we know Chinese companies are very competitive, they use many digital channels, beautiful design, good storytelling, and attractive videos and images.

But what is really crucial is the ability to permit people to find you. In order to be found, you must be present on the different digital platforms. Various channels connected to each other give you more opportunities to show your potential.

How did essential oils gain popularity in China?

Thanks to the continuous and sustained development of China’s economy, especially the constant growth of many first- and second-tier cities in China, a large number of high-income classes and middle class with strong spending power have been created.

Due to the dramatic increase in work pressure, the shift in consumer awareness, and the need to improve the quality of life, essential oil consumption has begun to move out of traditional professional places.

Essential oil products are also within reach in shopping mall counters, specialty stores, and even small boutiques.

The rapid growth of the Chinese essential oils market has naturally attracted the attention of internationally renowned brands.

How promote the essential oils market in China?

The Chinese market is obviously connected to the digital world, so at the present none could enter such an advanced and big market without a digital strategy. A successful strategy must include many channels to be effective. It is crucial to choose the right one according to your company profile and budget.

Elixirs – RED post by SEO Agency China

As we all know, Chinese consumers are keen on using the internet, especially regarding research of the brand new products.

Red (aka) instagram is the most popular platform to market essentiel oils

E-commerce and live streaming are the current most relevant trend to engage Chinese consumers. However, there are plenty of digital platforms that companies are using to nurture their audience or achieve brand awareness.

To enter the Chinese market, those who want to promote essential oils should consider being present in the following places:

Baidu: the biggest search engine in China. It is crucial for any brand to have a strong presence on Baidu for credibility purposes.

WeChat: is the most used social media in China. It is used for everything from chatting to shopping online to ordering a taxi and so on. However, if being on Wechat is necessary, Wechat is not a place to gain visibility but rather to educate and nurture your target audience.

Weibo: it’s a social media that is very useful to build brand awareness. This social media is a powerful instrument to advertise your brand. It also belongs to Alibaba, which also owns Tmall, and Taobao, the most popular e-commerce platform in China.

Douyin: Is definitely the most popular Chinese social media of the last few years and has a massive influence inside the country. Thanks to its sophisticated algorithm the app targets users with relevant content that keep them hooked. It is a great place to promote your brand.

Tmall: one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in China. Chinese people use this platform for purchasing many types of products. It has a very good reputation which makes it one of the best places to sell wine online since Chinese consumers want to buy foreign wine because of its high quality and what it represents.

Zhihu: is a Q&A forum (which can be compared to Quora).

Marketing and essential oils in China

When people Chinese consumers look for the purest essential oils, they should analyze what are the company’s practices. For example:

They use certified organic ingredients whenever possible from sustainable sources.
They don’t dilute the oils or adulterate them with additives.
They maintain high control throughout the manufacturing process.
The oils are constantly checked for purity and quality through a variety of tests, preferably through third-party laboratories.
They provide information regarding where the plants came from and what type of extraction process was used.
The company promotes the safe use of oils.
They have responsive customer service.

They are many essential oil companies such as NOW Foods, Plant Therapy, and Rocky Mountains Oils.

Develop your business in China

An SEO agency is a digital marketing agency based in China, Shanghai. Our team has helped several companies to enter the Chinese market and strengthen their position in China.

CONTACT us to see our CASE STUDIES

The China essential oils market at a glance

What	2025-2026 reality	What it means for you
Market size	~$530m in 2024, rising ~11% a year	Early but fast-growing, get in now
Aromatherapy	Growing near double the global rate	Strong wellness demand
Top sellers	Lavender, tea tree, citrus, eucalyptus	Lead with proven favourites
Where it sells	Xiaohongshu, Tmall, Douyin livestream	Build trust online first

How we grow wellness brands in China

SEO Agency China office on Changning Lu street in Shanghai

We are a small Shanghai team, and we started from nothing, learning how Chinese buyers research and trust health products. One health and personal-care brand came to us unknown, with no reviews and no buzz. We built their Xiaohongshu presence with honest content and the right wellness KOLs, anchored a Tmall store, and used a few livestreams to turn interest into orders. In months they went from invisible to a brand Chinese buyers searched for by name. For essential oils, the path is the same: win trust on Xiaohongshu, sell on Tmall and Douyin, and let real reviews do the heavy lifting.

Thinking about China for your oils or wellness range? We are easy to work with, our prices suit smaller brands, and our results are real. Get in touch through our contact form and we will tell you honestly how your products would land here.

The “scent economy” is pulling big money into China

Chinese press now calls fragrance and aromatherapy the “scent economy”, and 2025 numbers show why. The home fragrance market hit about $1.02 billion in 2025 and is set to roughly double by 2033, while the aromatherapy slice grew from 5 billion yuan in 2018 to 25 billion yuan in 2023. Local beauty giants are jumping in too: Maogeping filed 13 fragrance products in December 2024, and brands like Hanshu plan diffuser and candle lines. For a foreign brand this means more buyers, but also more local rivals, so you want to plant your flag while shoppers still trust imported quality. 21st Century Business Herald.

What Chinese buyers say on Zhihu

A beginner asked Zhihu which essential oil brands are actually reliable. The answers are useful because they show exactly what worried first-time buyers look for before they spend.

Q: “I am a beginner essential oil fan. Can you recommend a few reliable essential oil brands?”
A (translated): “Buy from the official channels of trusted brands. Foreign professional oil brands with official flagship stores in China right now include Germany’s Oshadhi, Quinessence and Florihana. Training schools sell reliable oils too. Most important: pick a supplier who can give you a quality test report and proof of where the plant came from.”

So the trust trigger is proof, official stores, test reports and clear origin, not slogans. Read the thread on Zhihu.

The opportunity, and how to take it

The market is still young, growing fast, and buyers are actively hunting for brands they can trust, which is a good spot for a clear, honest foreign name. The way this turns into sales is simple: an e-commerce store on Tmall or Douyin to capture demand, plus B2B lead generation and distributor deals to reach spas, retailers and gifting buyers. We are a small Shanghai team, Chinese-native, and we care about real results like orders and qualified leads, not vanity metrics, at prices that work for smaller brands. If you want an honest read on how your oils would sell here, talk to us.

Sources: market data from Business Research Insights and Shanghai Jungle.