This article was published on July 19, 2026, at 15:45 on Signal, the capital markets compass.
Amorepacific is selling its health functional food plant in Anseong, which has annual production capacity of about 200 billion won. Analysts say the move aims to improve capital efficiency and aligns with the company's mid- to long-term business restructuring strategy.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 19th, Amorepacific recently sent requests for proposals (RFPs) to major advisory firms to select a lead manager for the sale of its plant in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. The plant's product production capacity reached 204.7 billion won last year. Some advisory firms are reportedly courting strategic investors (SIs) interested in entering the health functional food business as acquisition candidates.
The sale of Amorepacific's Anseong plant is interpreted as a step to advance its "inner beauty" business. Inner beauty refers to the trend of managing health from within by consuming products such as health functional foods, moving beyond topically applied cosmetics. Amorepacific is focusing on more advanced research and development (R&D) in health functional foods, based on its research staff in nutritional metabolism and pharmaceutical sciences. An Amorepacific official said, "We are pursuing the sale of the Anseong plant for efficient asset management."
Amorepacific (090430)'s sale of the Anseong health functional food plant is interpreted as a move to further strengthen its core business capabilities through capital efficiency. Since last year, Amorepacific has been pursuing various asset liquidation efforts, including the sale of flagship office buildings located in major metropolitan cities such as Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, and Gwangju.
On the 19th, the IB and cosmetics industries viewed Amorepacific's planned sale of its Anseong, Gyeonggi Province plant as a sign that the company's business restructuring is picking up in earnest. Amorepacific recently sent RFPs to major advisory firms to select a lead manager for the plant's sale.
The Anseong plant, which has a 38-year history this year, traces its roots to Taepyeongyang Pharmaceutical. In 1989, Taepyeongyang Pharmaceutical completed the Anseong plant in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), the global standard for pharmaceutical manufacturing and quality control. Taepyeongyang Pharmaceutical later introduced the beauty brand "Aestura" and completed a healthcare business site within the Anseong plant in 2014. When Amorepacific acquired Taepyeongyang Pharmaceutical, which had changed its name to Aestura, in 2021, the plant was incorporated as Amorepacific's healthcare and beauty production site. The plant produces products of "Vital Beauty," Amorepacific's flagship inner beauty (health functional food) brand. Super Collagen, Meta Green, and Myungjaksu are among the representative products.
As a plant built in accordance with GMP, it is expected to draw strong interest from SIs pursuing expansion in the health functional food business. The Anseong plant's production capacity exceeds 200 billion won annually. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, the Anseong plant's production capacity was 204.7 billion won last year. It was 220.4 billion won in 2024 and 260.1 billion won in 2023.
Along with the sale of the Anseong plant, Amorepacific is pursuing upgrades to production facilities in other regions, including Osan and Daejeon in Gyeonggi Province and Jincheon in North Chungcheong Province. Among them, a plan to produce "Vital Beauty" brand products at the Osan plant, the largest production facility, is under review. A company official also explained, "The Osan plant will handle health functional food production." Amorepacific's Osan plant (now Amore Beauty Park) was completed in 2012 and produces core products such as Sulwhasoo and Laneige. The move is interpreted as an effort to consolidate even health functional food production at the Osan plant to boost economies of scale and management efficiency.
As inner beauty is expected to become the next battleground for K-beauty, the company is seen as taking preemptive steps in business restructuring, including selling existing plants. According to global market research firm InsightAce, the global inner beauty market is expected to grow from $4.2 billion (about 5.7 trillion won) last year to $13.1 billion (about 18 trillion won) by 2034. The average annual growth rate is about 11.9%. Based on such projections, Amorepacific is also expanding its collagen, body fat, and fatigue care product lines.
Competition in the inner beauty market is showing signs of heating up. Rival APR recently signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Natural Way, a health functional food specialist, and is pursuing joint development of inner beauty products. LG Household & Health Care is also expanding its collagen- and probiotics-centered product lines. An industry official predicted, "Cosmetics companies can easily expand the market through their existing customers, so their entry into the inner beauty field will accelerate further."
