TRBusiness met with Julien Noilou, General Manager of Sensai, in Cannes.

Japanese luxury skincare and makeup house Sensai marked a dynamic presence at the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference 2025 in Cannes, where the brand showcased its latest product innovations and outlined ambitious travel retail expansion plans across Europe and Asia.

Appearing under the Kao Group umbrella alongside fellow prestige names Molton Brown and Oribe, Sensai presented a curated collection of Autumn/Winter 2025 novelties and best-sellers, including the newly launched Total Form Expert Cream – a next-generation anti-ageing treatment blending Japanese craftsmanship with cutting-edge science.

Speaking to TRBusiness, Julien Noilou, General Manager of Sensai, detailed how the brand’s growth momentum continues to accelerate across both domestic and travel retail markets.

Expanding beyond the Nordics

While Sensai enjoys strong brand recognition in Northern Europe, where it has built loyal followings across Germany, Italy, Spain and the Nordics, the company is now broadening its regional base.

“Consumers really picked it up in this region, and now daughters of our original buyers are using it,” Noilou said. “We have a great heritage there. This translates into travel retail too, as 70% of our sales in TR are made above Copenhagen.”

In the coming months, Sensai will open new airport doors in Warsaw and Prague, followed by Rome and Milan in spring. “We don’t want to be only Nordic dependent, so expansion is important to us,” he added.

The brand has also been exclusive to Harrods in the UK, but will soon open its first standalone flagship store at Whitehall, marking another significant milestone in its European journey.

Sensai Total Form Expert Cream is the brand’s most exciting new launch.

A Japanese brand with a European soul

Although Sensai is deeply rooted in Japanese heritage, its success story has strong European origins. “Funnily enough, we launched in Europe first,” Noilou revealed. “We are a Japanese brand created for European consumers. It’s only been six years since we launched in Japan, and the brand itself is almost 50 years old.”

Today, Sensai is also well established in Japan and Korea, with further expansion planned in Southeast Asia. “We launched in Indonesia this year and will launch in Thailand next year,” Noilou said. “We’ve also just signed with Lagardère Travel Retail, which is a big part of our growth plan.”

The brand is not yet present in the United States or India, which Noilou acknowledged as “still untapped markets” for future development.

The rise of Total Form Expert Cream

Among Sensai’s standout innovations in Cannes was the Total Form Expert Cream, which embodies the brand’s approach to advanced anti-ageing care through its signature ingredient, Koishimaru Silk EX.

“We don’t say we have star items – we have lots of fantastic categories we are pushing,” Noilou explained. “But this one is original because it works on wrinkle concerns and lifting at the same time. Until recently, we only had specialised products for either/or, but now we’ve brought them together in one cream. We only launched it a month ago, but it’s already proving to be very popular – in travel retail too.”

Sensai highlighted a number of its best-sellers at TFWA in Cannes.

A focused approach to travel retail

For Sensai, travel retail remains both a commercial and strategic platform to connect with local and global consumers. “To us, TR is very much connected to local clients and it has always been that way,” Noilou noted.

He added that while many beauty brands lean heavily on exclusives for the channel, Sensai takes a more curated approach. “I don’t necessarily believe in travel retail exclusives for beauty as opposed to confectionery,” he said. “There’s already so much choice that these can get diluted.”

Looking ahead: execution, service and long-term growth

Looking toward 2026, Sensai is focused on selective growth and flawless retail execution. “Opening in the four airports – Warsaw, Prague, Milan and Rome – is a big moment in the life of the company,” Noilou said. “We don’t want to open everywhere. Where we open, we want to ensure top execution and top service, so that’s big for us.”

In parallel, the brand is preparing a major expansion of its signature Double Moisturising range. “From Spring/Summer 2026, we’ll launch our double moisturising products in five different lines, at five different price points and with five different benefits,” Noilou revealed. “By 2030 we want this category to increase by 50%, so that’s a really big focus for us and where we will invest.”

With a growing network of retail partnerships, product innovation rooted in Japanese artistry, and a clear long-term strategy for travel retail, Sensai continues to bridge East and West — bringing its refined philosophy of “The Sense and Science of Japan” to an ever-wider audience.

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