As global major beauty corporations have in turn pointed to K-beauty as a core growth pillar, domestic cosmetics brands are seeing expanded opportunities to go overseas. Ulta Beauty, the largest U.S. beauty retail chain, cited K-beauty brands as a key growth driver in its recent earnings release, and L'Oréal, the world's No. 1 cosmetics company, also formalized a global expansion strategy led by K-beauty. As overseas distributors move clearly to bring in K-beauty, examples of domestic brands expanding abroad are steadily increasing.
According to the related industry on the 17th, Ulta Beauty posted mid single-digit growth of 4% to 6% in the skincare and wellness institutional sector in the fourth quarter of last year. At its earnings presentation, Ulta Beauty mentioned K-beauty brands such as Medicube, Anua and Peach & Lily, naming them as major growth drivers for this segment. It also said it would streamline inefficient store SKUs and expand K-beauty and wellness categories while selecting brands with a focus on efficacy and quality.
L'Oréal, in a recent earnings release, said "the playbook for success in the skincare market has changed," emphasizing the influence of K-beauty. At the 2025 earnings presentation, L'Oréal executives said last year's growth in the company's skincare institutional sector fell short of expectations, pointing to rapidly rising indie brands as one of the reasons.
In response, L'Oréal said it would strengthen its pace of innovation and consumer communication strategy, while pushing a strategy to expand the K-beauty brand Dr.G into the global market. Dr.G is a derma-cosmetics brand created in Korea in 2003 and was acquired by L'Oréal in 2024.
As K-beauty emerges as a core growth engine in the global cosmetics industry, competition among overseas distribution channels to secure K-beauty brands is heating up. With K-beauty brands entering major distribution networks in the United States and Europe one after another, sales channels are rapidly expanding.
Amorepacific's IOPE made its official entry into the North American market this month by launching simultaneously on Sephora's U.S. online mall and in offline stores. AESTURA entered Sephora's Europe online mall last month and is set to roll out sequentially to about 680 offline stores across 17 European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Sulwhasoo also strengthened its push into Europe early this year by launching on the U.K. online beauty platform Cult Beauty.
Ulta Beauty began in earnest to onboard K-beauty brands in the third quarter of last year and is quickly expanding its related assortment. Ulta Beauty has bolstered its skincare lineup by successively bringing in Medicube, VT Cosmetics, I'M FROM, SOME BY MI, Mixsoon, NEOGEN, CHASING RABBITS, Anua and Manyo Factory. Color-focused brands such as Fwee, TIRTIR and rom&nd are also using Ulta Beauty as a springboard to widen their foundation for entering the U.S. offline market.
Domestic distribution corporations are also accelerating their push into overseas markets in line with the spread of K-beauty. CJ Olive Young recently signed a strategic partnership with Sephora and decided to showcase K-beauty brands in a shop-in-shop format inside Sephora stores in key countries worldwide. Through this, it aims to expand exposure for K-beauty brands in major markets such as North America and Europe.
Olive Young will open its first local store in Pasadena, California, in May and plans additional openings in areas including Los Angeles within the year. In early March, it established its first local logistics base in Bloomington, California, strengthening its order fulfillment capability in North America. Olive Young plans to expand the size of its logistics center in line with increased cargo volume and secure additional logistics hubs on the U.S. East Coast.
This year, as Korea's cosmetics exports show a steep rise, the likelihood is growing that K-beauty will once again set an all-time export record. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, cosmetics exports in January to February this year reached $1.943 billion (about 2.9 trillion won), up 18.5% from the same period a year earlier.
Lee Gyo-seok, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities, said, "Amid weakened real purchasing power around the world, preference for value-for-money cosmetics is taking root as a new consumption trend," adding, "K-beauty export growth should be seen not as a temporary fad but as a structural shift."