With European exports of cosmetics from South Korean small and mid-sized companies surging more than 60% in the first half of this year, the government is opening a series of K-beauty experience and sales sites in Italy, Germany and France. The program goes beyond promoting and selling products to local consumers, extending to European certification support and buyer matching to back smaller cosmetics firms entering the European market in earnest.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 28th that it will sequentially open K-beauty overseas experience and sales venues in Milan, Italy; Stuttgart, Germany; and Paris, France, starting on the 25th of this month, to support Korean small and mid-sized cosmetics brands in Europe.
K-beauty's expansion in Europe is accelerating. Cosmetics exports to Europe by small and mid-sized firms reached $1.26 billion in the first half of this year, up 62.4% from $770 million a year earlier. The ministry said it plans to widen contact points between Korean companies and local consumers and help them secure distribution channels in line with that growth.
The ministry operates pop-up stores, permanent experience and sales venues called flagship stores, and flagship hubs that support everything from product sales to certification and buyer matching, depending on the characteristics of each overseas market and the stage a company has reached.
In Milan, a pop-up store called Gop-da ran from the 25th to the 27th of this month during Milan Fashion Week. It showcased Korean small and mid-sized cosmetics to local consumers to gauge market response and held export consultations with buyers.
In Stuttgart, a flagship store named NEMO Store x K-BEAUTY ON opens on the 28th. Building on the results of last year's pop-up store, the permanent outlet has been set up in MILANEO, a large local shopping mall, to help Korean companies build sales records and secure business-to-business distribution channels.
In Paris, a flagship hub called mmm (Maison des Mille Muses) opens on the 30th. It will present K-beauty products alongside beauty technology such as artificial intelligence-based personal color and skin diagnostics. The hub will also provide services needed to enter the European market, including consulting on the Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP), the European cosmetics notification system, and connections to local buyers.
The ministry plans to expand its K-beauty overseas experience and sales venues to countries including the United States, Vietnam, Chile, Indonesia, Morocco and Singapore.
"We hope this will be of practical help to small and mid-sized cosmetics companies that struggle to secure their own overseas distribution channels as they move into Europe," said Sung Chang-hyun, director general of the ministry's health industry policy bureau. "We will further widen opportunities for our companies' products and technologies to meet global consumers."
