From affordability to quality, the way Bangladesh shops for beauty are changing

There was a time when seeing “Made in Bangladesh” on a beauty product might have made customers think twice. Not because they did not want to support local brands, but because beauty is personal.

When a product is going in our skin and hair, trust matters. And for years, that trust was often associated with imported brands and goods.

For the last two decades, if a product came from Korea, India, Thailand or Europe, it was often seen as the safer choice. On the other hand, “Made in Bangladesh” label, was seen as an affordable option rather than quality.

This mindset did not appear overnight. It was built through years of experience. For a long time, much of the local personal care market competed mainly on price.

As product information was often limited, ingredient lists were not always clear. Fake and unofficial products also made it harder to know which products were real and which could be trusted. So, choosing an imported brand often felt like the safer option.

Today, whether in a beauty store or on a large e-commerce platform, local cleansers, sunscreens, hair oils and serums are increasingly being considered alongside international brands. They are being considered on their own merits not as cheaper alternatives.

Instead of simply relying on a brand’s reputation, customers are now paying closer attention to what a product contains, what it claims to do, and whether it actually works. Ingredients and product claims that once felt unfamiliar are now part of everyday beauty conversations.

Sinthia Sharmin Islam, co-founder and chief content officer of Shajgoj Limited, has seen this change closely through the platform’s content and community. “When we started, almost every question in our comment section was some version of ‘is this foreign or local?’ But what I see now is completely different. The questions are ‘what percentage of niacinamide is in this’, ‘is this tested’, ‘will this work on oily skin in Dhaka's humidity’. That is a far healthier question, and honestly, it is a harder one for brands to answer,” she says.

Those questions reflect how both shoppers and the local beauty market have evolved.

The change became more noticeable during and after COVID-19, when limited access to imported products gave local brands more space to build trust through better quality, formulation and transparency.

Today, local beauty brands are competing on more than price. Clearer ingredient lists, third-party testing, dermatological assessments and better-supported claims are becoming increasingly important.

As a result, shoppers are paying more attention to whether a product works rather than simply where it comes from. They also have more ways to find out. Social media, beauty groups, creators and customer reviews now give shoppers access to real experiences beyond brand advertising.

For local brands, this makes performance even more important. A product may attract a first-time buyer through an offer, but getting that customer to return is a different story.

Farhana A. Preeti, assistant vice president at Shajgoj Limited, puts it simply: “An offer can get anyone to try a product once. That is how this market works, for local and imported brands alike. What it cannot do is bring the customer back. That is where local skincare and haircare has changed.” she says.

In short, the competition is no longer only about affordability. It is about earning a place on the beauty shelf increasingly means proving their quality, performance and consistency.

And perhaps that is the biggest change in the way Bangladeshis shop for beauty products. “Made in Bangladesh” is no longer the only thing that matters. Customers are looking beyond the label.