Langkawi looks to lure international cosmetics brands

Langkawi is looking to reposition itself as a cosmetic-tourism destination and will be looking to lure tourists with a higher income base.According to several local reports, RM200 million investment has already been made in the state and would see the establishments of research and development centres, factories, sales centre and herbal cultivation centre. It looks to also attract well known cosmetics companies and brands to set up their brunches in the vicinity. There will also be 5000 more jobs added.Local reports also quoted Mohd Rawi, the State Assemblyman for Ayer Hangat, saying that Langkawi was chosed based on the advice of the Science, Technology and Innovations Ministry in collaboration with BioTech Corporation.In recent years, the halal cosmetics industry has also seen a rise in popularity and is making waves in Southeast Asia as cosmetic producers help to weed out products which contain alcohol and lard-based lipsticks. Today several major beauty brands like L’Oreal which has hopped on the bandwagon, with strong markets in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore pushing the envelope.This also joins a trend where more and more international brands are capitalising on the growing Muslim market to launch products specific to the Islamic demographic. It also shows an increasing number of young Muslim consumers with high spending power; enough to warrant an entire focus for the market.