‘Servin’ face and jianbing’: Rihanna courts China’s lucrative beauty market with some clever culinary skills

CNN
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There’s a reason why Rihanna is a billionaire. She’s a business mogul in every sense: Aside from a prolific music career, she’s launched successful brands including her cosmetics empire Fenty Beauty – worth an estimated $2.8 billion according to Forbes – and her lingerie label Savage X Fenty.

Her latest move in China to promote makeup products is something of a masterclass in how to tap into its lucrative – mostly online – Gen Z market.

On Tuesday night, the chart-topping singer attended a Fenty Beauty pop-up held at a Shanghai photography museum, “servin’ face” according to brand’s Instagram, and “jianbing” – a popular Chinese breakfast crepe that costs about a dollar.

Dressed in a head-to-toe black ensemble, Rihanna cracked an egg, spread yolk, sprinkled scallions, brushed sauce and placed a crunchy cracker onto the savory street food favorite, made on a glittery food cart.

“She makes crepes but not her new album,” joked one user on Douyin, China’s TikTok, while another wrote on Weibo, “She’s so good at it, it’s hard to believe it’s her first time.”

Rihanna is already a beloved star in China, recently appearing on April’s Vogue China cover. She has been viewed as appreciating Chinese culture, famously wearing a glorious golden yellow creation by master couturier Guo Pei to 2015’s China-themed Met Gala.

And the decision to serve up jianbing was a savvy move – one that embraced the star’s moniker among Chinese fans and displayed knowledge of her audience.

Besides being a video app, Douyin is a major platform for online shopping – with products and discounts displayed on-screen during livestreams and purchases just a swipe or a click away. In 2022, there were more than 460 million livestreaming e-commerce users in mainland China, according to the Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, a body affiliated with Beijing’s commerce ministry.

Other foreign luxury brands have already hosted their own livestream sessions, including Gucci, Dior and Louis Vuitton. China is now the world’s second largest beauty market.

Rihanna’s appearance was part of the platform’s wider “618” (or June 18) campaign, one of China’s most important online shopping events after Singles Day in November, that sees widespread promotions starting nearly a month ahead.