| Category | Suncare & Cleansing |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan (Kao) |
| Listing | Parent Kao listed on TSE (4452) |
| Latest revenue | Parent net sales JPY 1.69tn in FY2025 |
| Hero SKUs | Biore UV Aqua Rich |
Brand History
Biore is a Kao personal-care brand launched in the 1980s, named from 'bio' and 're', starting in cleansing and body care and winning shelf space in Japanese drugstores on three words: gentle, cheap, works. What made it global was the 2010s sunscreen line: Aqua Rich used a gel texture to solve the long-standing complaint that sunscreen feels sticky, becoming a phenomenon across Asia.
Its philosophy matches Kao's house style — no expensive technology narrative, but one small experience perfected: no white cast, no tackiness, removable with face wash. That works brutally well in value tiers and kept Biore as 'the first sunscreen' for students on Chinese e-commerce. The challenge is equally clear: Chinese value suncare is being surrounded by domestic and Thai brands with lower prices and faster drops, so Biore must find a memory point beyond cheap — and Kao's 2025 decline in Western UV markets is already the warning.
Hero Products
Three-Year Financials
Neither the brand nor its parent publishes audited annual financials; no estimates are provided.
Brand-level：Biore's own revenue is not disclosed. In 2025 its UV line grew in Japan while falling in Europe and the US on tougher competition; in China its cleansers and makeup removers sit in the value Japanese tier on e-commerce, at RMB 30-80.
Source：Kao FY2025 tanshin; Kao group data pages; trade press
Company Coverage
- 2026-02Kao grows sales and profit in 2025
Net sales JPY 1.69tn and operating income JPY 164.1bn, with the cosmetics business back in profit.
Source：Kao FY2025 results - 2025-09Western UV under pressure
The Aqua Rich line faced competitive attacks in Europe and the US and fell year on year.
Source：Kao results briefing - 2025-04China value suncare intensifies
Domestic and Thai brands crowd the sub-RMB 50 band with frequent drops.
Source：E-commerce trade media
Editor's note: Biore's most valuable asset is not a formula but a sensory promise — it will not feel sticky. In China that promise has been copied widely and no new reason has replaced it. Kao's cosmetics recovery is being driven by Curél and KANEBO; Biore needs an equally clear repositioning.