The K-beauty industry is expected to actively pursue the Brazilian and other South American markets on the occasion of President Lee Jae-myung's state visit to Brazil. This is because the chief executives of K-beauty companies are known to be accompanying the president on his trip in large numbers. Brazil is the world's third-largest cosmetics market after the United States and China.
According to the industry on the 26th, Lee Sang-mok, president of Amorepacific Holdings; Kim Byoung-hun, CEO of APR; Chun Joo-hyuk, CEO of Goodai Global; and Kim Sung-woon, CEO of Silicon2, will attend the "Korea-Brazil Business Roundtable" held in São Paulo during President Lee's visit to Brazil. It is unusual for K-beauty companies to participate in large numbers in a presidential overseas trip. The beauty industry expects this to give momentum to cooperation discussions aimed at entering not only Brazil but also the Latin American market.
According to Euromonitor International, Brazil's cosmetics market this year is projected to reach $34.1 billion, ranking third after the United States ($117.7 billion) and China ($71 billion). However, K-beauty's exports to Brazil are not large. According to the Korea Customs Service, exports of cosmetics products to Brazil stood at $54.3 million as of last year, ranking just 32nd among 207 export destinations.
Still, the growth rate is steep. Exports to Brazil surged more than 10-fold in five years, from $5.18 million in 2020. From Brazil's perspective, Korea also holds an important position as its sixth-largest cosmetics import source. The sentiment toward K-beauty within Brazil is also favorable. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva remarked last December that "the reason I've become better-looking is thanks to Korean cosmetics." In addition, on the occasion of President Lula's visit to Korea in February, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on regulatory cooperation with Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency and moved to support K-beauty exports.
A beauty industry official said, "Brazil has such high demand for beauty products that more than half of consumers regard appearance management as essential, to the extent that global beauty brands treat it as a bridgehead for entering Latin America." He added, "K-beauty companies will also enter the Latin American market, starting with Brazil, viewing it as a new growth engine going forward."
