South Korean cosmetic brands, including Tirtir, d’Alba, Torriden, and Beauty of Joseon, are negotiating with major US retailers to sell their products in physical stores, according to Reuters.

These companies aim to leverage their online success in the US, despite facing challenges such as tariffs.

Retailers such as Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Costco, and Target are reportedly in discussions to stock these brands.

Tirtir’s CEO, An Byung-Jun, noted the success of its cushion foundation, which gained popularity online for its suitability for diverse skin tones.

This product will be available at Ulta Beauty outlets this summer, with the company aiming to double its US sales in 2025.

The growing interest in Korean cosmetics in the US highlights a broader trend of global demand for K-beauty products.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ The thousand-year foundation of Korea’s modern beauty empire

South Korea’s cosmetics industry didn’t emerge overnight—it builds on centuries of beauty traditions dating back to ancient times.

The Three Kingdoms Era (57 BCE) marked the beginning of documented makeup practices, with each kingdom (Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla) contributing unique beauty standards and techniques that evolved over centuries 1.

Traditional Korean beauty emphasized natural ingredients like ground mung beans for cleansing, plant juices for lotions, and various oils for moisture—principles that remain central to modern K-beauty’s appeal 1.

This historical foundation helps explain why South Korea has rapidly risen to become the world’s third-largest beauty product exporter in 2024, overtaking Germany with $13 billion in cosmetics output 2.

The industry’s focus on combining traditional wisdom with scientific innovation has created a compelling value proposition in global markets, offering products that are both innovative and rooted in proven historical practices.

2️⃣ The “Hallyu effect” creates a powerful marketing advantage

Korean beauty brands enjoy a significant advantage through cultural amplification that most competitors can’t replicate: the Korean Wave (“Hallyu”) of popular culture.

K-beauty companies like Tirtir explicitly acknowledge this advantage, with CEO An Byung-Jun stating: “K-culture—things like PSY in the past, BTS, and then Korean dramas and films like ‘Parasite’—those really paved the way” 2.

The influence of K-pop specifically has been quantifiable in driving beauty purchases, as demonstrated by the experience of 25-year-old American Yuliet Mendosa, whose BTS fandom directly led to her interest in K-beauty products 2.

This cultural momentum creates an organic marketing channel that has helped Korean brands achieve remarkable growth—the top five Korean cosmetics brands in U.S. e-commerce saw average sales growth of 71% over just two years 2.

3️⃣ K-beauty’s manufacturing model provides tariff resilience

Korean beauty startups are betting they can withstand tariff pressures better than competitors thanks to their distinctive business approach centered on outsourced manufacturing.

Many Korean brands work with contract manufacturers like Cosmax and Kolmar (described as the “Foxconns of fast beauty”), allowing them to maintain higher margins while keeping costs competitive 2.

This model contrasts with vertically integrated Western luxury brands and explains why Korean brands believe they can better absorb potential tariff increases of 10-25% that could significantly impact product pricing 3.

The global premium cosmetics market’s projected growth to $196 billion by 2030 suggests sufficient margin potential exists for successful brands to navigate tariff challenges while maintaining growth 4.

South Korea’s rise to the third position in global cosmetics exports, achieving $10 billion in international sales, demonstrates that this manufacturing approach has already proven effective in supporting rapid international expansion 5.