We see "inner beauty (Inner Beauty, health, functional, and beauty foods)" as the next runner for K-beauty. Because the growth potential is large, we are focusing on recruiting K-beauty brands related to inner beauty among brands that have not yet opened on Qoo10 Japan.
2nd at eBay Japan's new Akasaka headquarters in Tokyo, Park Young-in, Deputy Minister of eBay Japan's KR Beauty, said of the direction K-beauty will take going forward, "We are organizing events to showcase new brands, such as the mega debut (Mega debut), with a focus on inner beauty." eBay Japan, which has led K-beauty in Japan's online beauty market, plans to expand the market beyond cosmetics to health, functional, and beauty foods.
eBay Japan is a local subsidiary launched when eBay acquired Japan Qoo10 in 2018. Qoo10 Japan, eBay Japan's e-commerce (electronic commerce) platform, is regarded as the leading platform for K-beauty in Japan's online beauty market. According to Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, as of 2022, the e-commerce market size in the B2C (corporations-consumer transaction) sector is 13.0997 trillion yen (about 125 trillion won). eBay Japan competes with Rakuten, Amazon Japan, and Yahoo Japan.
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (based on Korea Customs Service statistics), Korea's cumulative cosmetics exports (preliminary) through the third quarter this year are about $8.5 billion (about 12 trillion won). Of that, exports to Japan accounted for about 9.6%, or $820 million (about 1.156 trillion won).
Amid this trend, Qoo10 Japan's K-beauty category is cited as a key pillar driving platform growth. Deputy Minister Park said, "The overall beauty category growth rate on Qoo10 Japan is 17.9%. Looking only at K-beauty, it grew by triple digits through 2023 and has continued to grow by double digits since."
◇ eBay Japan's Akasaka headquarters becomes a base for expanding K-beauty in the Japanese market
eBay Japan says the Akasaka headquarters serves as a springboard to expand K-beauty brands' presence in the Japanese market. The Akasaka headquarters is in central Tokyo. Kim Tae-eun, Deputy Minister of eBay Japan's Growth Support, said, "The new headquarters is not just an office space but a base for opening new markets." About 140 employees currently work at the new headquarters, overseeing the push into the Japanese market. In Korea, about 200 people also support Qoo10 Japan's operations.
eBay Japan is strengthening its brand incubation programs. A representative example is the "mega debut (a program that spotlights one brand each quarter)." In practice, Anua's collagen mask pack sold about 50,000 units over three months through the mega debut, and Mediheal's toner also sold more than 100,000 units over three months.
Kim Jae-don, eBay Japan's CMO (chief marketing officer), said, "Through the mega debut, 104 K-beauty indie brands have been introduced to the Japanese market so far," adding, "We are also placing K-beauty brands front and center at Mega Wari (Qoo10 Japan's large-scale quarterly discount and promotion event) to expand consumer experience."
This has been the driving force behind Qoo10 Japan establishing itself as the leading platform for K-beauty in Japan. Building on this growth base, eBay Japan plans to expand from cosmetics into inner beauty. According to eBay Japan, sales in the sports and functional foods category on Qoo10 Japan this year increased 700% from a year earlier. During the same period, diet food sales also rose 80%. Although inner beauty is still a unfamiliar concept to Japanese consumers, eBay Japan has made it a core new business driver given its strong growth potential.
◇ The "new market for K-beauty" inner beauty that eBay Japan is focusing on
eBay Japan is detailing its inner beauty expansion strategy based on K-beauty's existing approach to the Japanese market. In Aug., it launched a dedicated task force (TF), and in Nov., it plans to unveil a new inner beauty project (PBCM). It also runs inner beauty–only promotions every Thursday and Friday and is placing inner beauty front and center at Mega Wari.
However, there are many challenges to solve. Japanese consumers tend to be conservative, checking reviews and ingredients thoroughly and trying samples before deciding to buy. eBay Japan is concerned that for inner beauty—still a unfamiliar concept in the Japanese market—to take hold, it must go beyond simply bringing in brands.
Deputy Minister Kim Tae-eun said, "It is a familiar expression in the Korean market, but in the conservative Japanese market, the term inner beauty itself is unfamiliar," adding, "We need to build the inner beauty market itself from scratch." CMO Kim Jae-don also said, "Looking only at the growth rate, inner beauty may outpace the speed of expansion of the existing K-beauty market, but food is tightly regulated in Japan. There are many hurdles inner beauty must overcome."