REPORTER'S DIARY: Biore UV says it does not distribute to Nigeria. I checked some government-licensed pharmacies and found the product there

Imagine my surprise when, in August 2026, I saw a screenshot of an interaction on TikTok between Biore UV and fw.trixie, a Nigerian who was making enquiries about their product.

The brand had, in that screenshot, claimed that they do not distribute to Nigeria. Meanwhile, I bought the same sunscreen in 2025.

I had decided to restart my skincare journey after a face cream from a popular brand turned my face into soursop. On a very tight budget, I bought some facial toner, face wash and a smoothing cleanser. 

Since the popular skincare gospel is that all products are ineffective in the absence of sunscreen, I walked into a minimart near me and added the cheapest sunscreen on the shelf to my basket.  That sunscreen was my less-than-₦10,000 50 g Biore UV.

A little introspection dulled my surprise. Biore’s disclosure confirmed what I had suspected all along after the sunscreen made me break out. As expected, that screenshot created some me-too moments on social media, especially X. 

Nigerians came out with pictures of Biore UV's sunscreen, asking the same question that bothered me: if Biore US says it doesn’t distribute to Nigeria, what exactly is the version of sunscreen we have all been using, where did it come from, and what does it contain? 

Most importantly, how many of the trusted vendors with strict “quality control departments" have this product on their shelves?

In my attempts to answer these questions, I browsed through the aisles of three different major malls on Lagos mainland, checked out three pharmaceutical stores owned by one brand, and checked two major online skincare stores in Nigeria.

I also sent an email to Biore’s email address and official Instagram account to find out how much they know about the geography of their products. I got no response from either channel.

NAFDAC was supposed to give me an opinion on the issue as a regulatory body. Finally, I also emailed the two major online skincare stores in Nigeria to clarify their Biore UV sunscreen supplier. 

What I actually found — through the actions and inactions of the key players — is generously detailed in the subsequent sections. Stay with me!

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Purple Mall (formerly Maryland Mall), Spar and Ikeja City Mall (ICM) were the three major marketplaces I visited to find out if legitimate big franchises indeed sold Biore.

On September 10 — a Thursday — I browsed the skincare aisle of Purple Mall’s Market Square retail mart in Maryland, Lagos, and didn’t find any Biore product. 

Meanwhile, at Purple Mall, I tried the Medplus Pharmacy located just a few feet from the Market Square exit. From the exit, the pharmacy is on the left, directly opposite the escalator.

It is not difficult to miss: its bright purple sign stands out against the mall’s interior, with the Medplus name printed prominently across the storefront. The entrance faces the walkway, so you can spot it almost immediately after coming out of Market Square and looking towards the escalator. 

When I entered MedPlus, I found three women at the front desk chatting excitedly. I greeted them politely and was answered reluctantly by the older woman to my left. I asked if they had Biore UV sunscreen; she answered positively, got up from her seat and walked me to where it was. 

She showed me two quantities of Biore UV sunscreen: one of 50g and one of 70g. The 50g tube has a white cap with product text arranged vertically across the container. The 70g tube also has a white cap, but the product text is arranged horizontally across the container. 

Because I asked, the attending staff told me that the 50g tube costs ₦ 3,400. Of course, I was not making any purchases. She wore a deadpan stare and instructed me to “return the bottle" after I told her this. I obeyed and left as fast as my feet could carry me. 

On the same day, I left for the Spar mall at Opebi in the Ikeja axis of Lagos. At Spar, I met a sales lady who saw me wandering and was kind and helpful in my search for Biore UV sunscreen. 

Her boss — a big and burly mid-sized man — would eventually call her to do her job. After searching through the skincare aisle and other aisles, I didn’t find a Biore product or anything remotely like it on any of the generously labelled shelves. 

On my way out, I met a tall man with a slim profile whom I assumed to be the inventory clerk because he had papers in his hands. I asked him to direct me to the nearest pharmacy, and he pointed me in the direction of a building that was just a stone's throw from Spar. It happened to be a Medplus pharmacy again. 

The Medplus pharmacy outlet at Opebi did not have anything like Biore UV sunscreen. I found, on my way out, that just a few feet away was the Allure Beauty Store. Unfortunately, they were closed at 6:29 PM when I passed. 

Swallowing my disappointment, I headed off to Ikeja City Mall. Since Shoprite was shut down, I wandered through the mall in search of beauty stores and pharmacies and found HealthPlus pharmacy. From the exterior, one could tell that it was a standard pharmacy due to its size. 

On entering, I found a few staff wearing white coats to symbolise their role as pharmacists. Some attended to customers’ enquiries, helped them find specific products on the shelves and practically ran the day’s business.

I walked up to the counter and asked the clerk if they had Biore UV sunscreen and got a negative response.

I left the store and wandered around until I found MedPlus! Again. I entered and requested Biore UV sunscreen; the pharmacist showed me the 70 g quantity. 

I needed to keep my front as a serious buyer. I picked up the 70 g Biore UV bottle and a pack of pimple patches. I walked up to the counter to ask the attendant for the prices of both products.

She gave me a quote of ₦5,000+ for the pimple patch and ₦16,200 for the Biore Sunscreen! I am no ‘maths major’ but the weight difference between a 70g tube and a 50g tube was not enough to account for the price disparity, especially from the same franchise.

I left Medplus, ICM and wandered the premises for a while in search of another outlet with Biore on its shelf. After walking around for a while and finding nothing, I took my leave at about 8 PM.

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Before I started on my pretend shopping, I had checked out two of some major online skincare stores around. I found Biore in Teeka 4’s catalogue. I also found it on BuyBetter. 

Teeka 4 listed 70 g of KAO Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF50+PA for the price of ₦11,900.

BuyBetter, on the other hand, listed the 70 g sunscreen under a ‘unique’ title: Biore Bright And Be Rich Watery Essence SPF 50++ at the price of ₦12,000. The reference photo on the page looked quite different from what I had seen everywhere. 

Curious about how these brands source the products, I reached out to them on September 10. I thought their responses might help provide some sort of clarity into how the products make it into the Nigerian market. 

I first tried to reach Teeka 4  through social media, but their inboxes were locked. I sent the brand an email instead. But as of the time of preparing this draft, I have received no response from them; all they did was close my ticket on September 15, 2025. 

I had very little hope of getting a response from BuyBetter because of my history with them. I had once purchased a pack of pimple patches from the brand, and it took insider intervention and emails to get my order. BuyBetter, however, responded with, "Your ticket '212952 Bioré UV sourcing and distribution in Nigeria' has been closed."

I reached out again and this time got a decent response on September 11, which is a Friday. BuyBetter requested my contact details with the promise of “providing further clarification on their sourcing process and addressing any additional questions I may have”.

On September 15, 2026, I got a WhatsApp message from a person who introduced himself as Ololade from BuyBetter. The conversation stretched for a few minutes. Ololade would eventually provide the brand’s official position on how the product is sourced.

He said, “Kao does not currently have an appointed Bioré distributor for Nigeria, and the brand has confirmed it is not officially available here. Like other Nigerian retailers of the brand, BuyBetter sources genuine products from authorised wholesale channels in Japan, where the brand is made and officially sold, and imports it directly. 

We stock a single SKU from the Japanese Bioré line, which is formulated differently from the Bioré sold in the United States and Europe. We do not disclose supply partners publicly, but every purchase is fully documented and we welcome any verification Kao requires.”

At the end of the day, Ololade’s response did not help me much, and Teeka4 did not respond to me. 

Since I found Biore UV sunscreen in MedPlus pharmacies, I reached out to MedPlus via their dedicated customer care email address on the 23rd of September, 2026, to verify their source. I got no response from them at the time of filing this report.

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I did learn something interesting from Ololade. He told me that Biore US and Biore Japan were different. And I decided to follow that line of inquiry. Maybe it will provide context to the original question of how the product found its way into Nigeria. To keep things clear, it helps to distinguish between Kao and Bioré. 

Kao Corporation is a major Japanese chemical and cosmetics manufacturer that produces consumer goods, beauty products, and hygiene items. Bioré is a global brand owned by Kao; it specialises in pore care, facial cleansers, and lightweight daily sun protection under its Bioré UV line. 

Note that Kao supplies Bioré UV sunscreen across 66 countries and territories spanning Asia (such as Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan), Europe (including the UK), and the Americas.

In the process of independently finding why BuyBetter features a different product image on its site, I came across a YouTube video by Dr Jane Yoo, a Korean dermatologist and Mohs surgeon in New York. In the video, published in April 2025, she explained the differences between the Japanese and U.S. formulations of Bioré Aqua Rich SPF.

Based on her experience, the two versions perform quite differently. The Japanese formulation uses newer, more advanced chemical UV filters — such as Uvinul A Plus, Tinosorb S, and Uvinul T 150 — which allow broader protection against UVA and UVB rays. 

In contrast, the U.S. version relies on older UV filters due to slower FDA approval processes for new ingredients. The result, according to the professional, is less comprehensive protection and a heavier feel on the skin.

She also explained that the Japanese version has a light, fresh citrus scent that dissipates quickly, while the U.S. version has a stronger, chemical scent that lingers.

The Japanese version features a white cap with product text arranged horizontally across the container, while the U.S. version has a grey cap with text arranged vertically. Both versions use different typography and visual styles. The Biore US version stocks only the 50 g bottle, while the Japanese version stocks 15 g and 50 g bottles.

Based on Dr Yoo’s explanation and the product image on the Biore US website, my version seems to be a portmanteau of both versions. The sunscreen has the (faint) citrusy scent of the Japanese version as well as the white cap, while the packaging has the typography of the US version. 

NAFDAC launched two known tools to verify if products and consumables are safe — if safety is the same as regulatory compliance, of course — for Nigerians. 

Those two products are NAPAMS and GreenBook. Using the details on my Biore UV sunscreen bottle, I decided to run an authenticity check. NAPAMS requires an NAFDAC number with other details to run a thorough authenticity check. 

Without an NAFDAC number, you cannot get anything done, and since Biore does not have an NAFDAC number (it does not distribute to Nigeria, remember?), I could not use the tool.

My search on the GreenBook returned no matching product as well. This prompted me to ask NAFDAC whether the product is registered under another name, applicant or importer. 

In an email sent to the agency on September 15, 2026, I asked NAFDAC seven candid questions.

To summarise, I wanted to establish whether Bioré UV sunscreen products are currently registered with NAFDAC for sale or distribution in Nigeria. I was also interested in which specific products are registered and the names of their registered applicants, importers or distributors.

I also wanted to know whether any NAFDAC-registered companies are authorised to import or distribute Bioré UV products in Nigeria and whether an independent Nigerian company can legally import and sell genuine Kao-manufactured Bioré products where the required NAFDAC registration and import requirements have been met. 

Where independent importation is permitted, I wanted to know what documentation importers or retailers should have to demonstrate that the products were legitimately sourced and legally imported.

Finally, I wanted to establish whether NAFDAC has received complaints or intelligence about counterfeit, falsified, unregistered or substandard Bioré UV products in Nigeria and whether it has conducted any seizures, inspections, laboratory tests or enforcement actions involving such products. 

I got no response from them, of course. The other email address I sent to their dedicated complaint desk was blocked.

Noradi, a beauty, cosmetic and personal care brand on X, did an explainer on how to differentiate between a fake and an original Bioré UV product. But how much of it is true?

To start, Noradi said any version of the product priced below ₦ 10,000 is fake. But veteran fraudsters could inflate the price to give consumers a false sense of security. Using ₦ 10,000 as the yardstick may be misleading.

The Biore US version sells for $15.99 on the company’s official website. If this is converted to naira, it costs ₦21,272.14. 

Noradi also used size as a metric. The brand made the claim that the older Japanese version of the sunscreen was sold in 50 g, but was discontinued in 2022. By implication,  a 50g Biore UV sunscreen should be suspicious. 

But a 50g tube is not, by itself, proof that a Biore sunscreen is fake. The parent company’s website itself lists both 15g and 50g tubes as iterations still available in the market. 

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Nigerians using Biore UV had different things to say about the product. For instance, Ifediche — who used Biore because someone recommended it to her — said the product did not agree with her skin.

She had shared on X on January 2 how she was drawn to the product because it was affordable and water-based. The Biore she bought had caused her to “break out so badly” after she started using it.

Candley’s grouse with buying Biore in Nigeria was a tad different. On her X account in September, she said she stopped using the product because every bottle she bought seemed to feel different from the previous one. This made her uncomfortable with continuing. 

At the end of my reporting journey, I asked some mutuals to share their experiences with Biore UV Sunscreen.

One lady told me the sunscreen made her break out badly. Another woman said it worked well for her. Both users had purchased their sunscreens for less than ₦5,000. 

The Bioré UV sunscreen sold at Medplus Opebi is affordable compared with what it could cost to import independently. The ones my mutuals and I bought too are also cheap relative to what the economics would suggest. 

But that begs many questions. If Kao says Bioré is not available in Nigeria, how are these products getting onto Nigerian shelves? Who is importing them, who is distributing them and, ultimately, who is accountable for what Nigerians are putting on their skin?