Europe Outpaces US as K-Beauty’s Leading Export Market

K-Beauty’s Expansion into the European Market

On the 3rd, a long line formed in front of the pop-up store of the Korean cosmetics brand ‘Beauty of Joseon’ at Westfield Stratford, a large shopping mall in London, UK. Visitors who waited over an hour entered and browsed the products while listening to staff explanations, also enjoying a large-scale Yutnori game set up in one corner. The response was so positive that around 5,000 people visited the pop-up store during the three-day event.

K-Beauty, which has been expanding its export territories over the past 2–3 years, is now targeting the European market this year. Using the UK as a foothold, it is expanding into Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, and other countries. Companies are increasingly entering local stores like Boots and strengthening online marketing. South Korea’s top cosmetics export market shifted from China two years ago to the US last year, and there are forecasts that Europe could surpass the US this year. Already, cosmetics exports to Europe in the first quarter of this year amounted to $675.3 million, exceeding those to the US ($786.0 million). European exports have been leading over the US since the fourth quarter of last year, and the gap has widened further.

“K-Beauty, Sells One Product Every 15 Seconds”

According to the Korea International Trade Association’s trade statistics service (K-stat) on the 26th, cosmetics exports to Europe in the first quarter of this year increased by 58% compared to the same period last year. The growth rate outpaced that of exports to the US (41%). By country, the UK (161%), the Netherlands (137%), and Germany (148%) recorded triple-digit growth rates. Poland (51%) and Estonia (281%) were also major markets for K-Beauty.

The country K-Beauty is most actively targeting these days is the UK. As an English-speaking country, products that gained popularity online in the US naturally spread there, resulting in relatively high awareness of K-Beauty. Compared to traditional beauty powerhouses like France, the UK has relatively lower entry barriers. Boots, the UK’s largest multi-brand beauty store, specifically mentioned in a year-end report last year, “K-Beauty is shaking up the industry, with K-Beauty products selling one every 15 seconds at Boots.”

Beauty of Joseon first entered Boots in the UK in June two years ago and is now present in 700 stores. Among the 130 skincare products at Boots, Beauty of Joseon products rank 8th, a top position. APR placed its flagship brand Medicube in Sephora stores in Germany and France last month. It began full-scale sales in the UK late last year, and securities firms estimate that APR earned around 30 billion Korean won in the UK alone in the first quarter of this year.

Amorepacific also officially launched its brand Aestura in Sephora stores across 17 European countries last month. In October last year, it began selling Mamonde, Primera, and Illiyoon at Boots in the UK. Amorepacific’s EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) regional sales jumped from 51.8 billion Korean won in 2023 to 241 billion Korean won last year. Cosmetics distributor Silicontu is operating the K-Beauty multi-brand store ‘Moida’ in the UK, France, and other countries. Anticipating further growth in the European market, it is expanding its logistics center in Poland, currently 13,200㎡ (4,000 pyeong), to 19,800㎡ (6,000 pyeong).

Simultaneous Online and Offline Strategies

K-Beauty companies are expected to accelerate their European strategies this year as part of market diversification. A source from a cosmetics ODM (original design manufacturer) company said, “Among promising markets, Southeast Asia has a smaller market size than Europe, and the Middle East has become challenging due to the aftermath of the Iran war, so we expect to focus more on Europe than anticipated.” According to Meritz Securities Research Center, Germany, the UK, and France rank 5th, 6th, and 7th, respectively, in the global cosmetics market. Italy, Spain, and Poland are also within the top 20.

The strategies K-Beauty companies use to target Europe are similar to yet different from those in the US. Unlike in the US, where companies focused mainly on online marketing before entering offline stores after achieving some success, in Europe, they are adopting a strategy that combines online and offline approaches. Compared to the US, the European market is relatively more conservative, with many consumers trusting products only when they are available in local offline stores, and there is strong demand to try products before purchasing. An APR source said, “We are increasing consumer touchpoints not only through online platforms like Amazon and TikTok Shop but also offline through stores like Boots in the UK and La Samaritaine department store in France.”