[News Today] SMALL BRANDS LEAD K-BEAUTY WAVE

[LEAD]
There's been a global surge in interest and demand when it comes to K-beauty. Cosmetics exports in the first half of the year have reached an all-time high. Especially, products from smaller companies are getting positive reviews. Surprisingly, even global online stores are keen to tap into Korean cosmetics.


[REPORT]
Oh, this is really dark. Okay with the perfect match.

This product went viral on social media sites.

It became the first Korean cosmetic product to top the beauty category at online shopping giant Amazon.

The product is from a small cosmetics company not widely known in Korea.

Its success lies in the diversification strategy which offers 30 different colors to suit all skin tones.

Kim Yong-cheol/ Cosmetics Company CEO
Our daily sales at Amazon was around KRW 1 mn (USD 733) in Sept. 2023. But the figure soared to between KRW 50 mn and 100 mn (USD 74,000) when we sold products customers wanted.

Korea's beauty product exports in the first half of this year set a record high of 4.8 billion U.S. dollars, 70% of which were attributed to small-and-medium cosmetics companies.

These products are now exported to 165 countries around the world as the companies produced high quality items that satisfied the various needs of global consumers.

Subsequently, global online shopping malls are vying to discover and attract Korean beauty products.

One shopping platform subsidizes delivery charges for Korean sellers and another has a plan to help smaller brands export their products.

Hannah Shin/ CEO, Amazon Global Selling Korea
Smaller beauty brands produce very diverse, unique and differentiated products. I think they have a huge potential.

However, they face the challenge of dealing with the certification regulations of different countries.

The Korean government plans to use all-out export support program to boost the export of smaller cosmetics brands to 10 billion U.S. dollars.