The K-beauty boom is spreading beyond skincare and color cosmetics to contact lenses. As color lenses that combine beauty elements have emerged in a market long defined by medical devices, they are being treated as fashion and beauty items. Demand for colors and designs is expanding under the influence of social media (SNS) and idol makeup, boosting their presence in the global market.
On the 15th, according to the Financial Supervisory Service's Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System (DART), Starvision, which operates the contact lens brand OLens, posted revenue of 194.1 billion won and operating profit of 65.4 billion won last year. Compared with a year earlier, revenue rose 26% and operating profit increased 21%.
Starvision is a domestic contact lens company founded by Chief Executive Park Sang-jin, a former optician. Based on vertical integration that spans research and development (R&D), manufacturing, and distribution, it holds about a 20% share in Korea's contact lens market, which is led by multinationals such as Alcon and Johnson & Johnson.
Starvision's overseas business is improving. AMMU, the Hong Kong sales subsidiary that posted a net loss the year before last, swung to a net profit in the 100 million won range last year. It is assessed to be maintaining annual revenue in the 20 billion won range and serving as a stable distribution channel.
Geo Medical, the manufacturing subsidiary, also continued solid results. Last year's revenue rose 6.4% on-year to 46.3 billion won, and net profit increased 4% to 7.8 billion won. Icodi, which has been consolidated as a manufacturing subsidiary since last year, recorded revenue of 10.2 billion won and net profit of about 500 million won.
The year before last, Starvision moved to strengthen production capacity by acquiring a 49.7% equity stake in Icodi, a manufacturer in the same industry. Icodi, which had led the color lens market, saw its financial condition deteriorate from 2022 due to intensifying competition and subsequently sold a stake to Starvision. Starvision plans to foster Icodi as a global original equipment manufacturing (OEM) base for the Middle East, Japan, China, and elsewhere.
Other contact lens companies besides Starvision are also performing well. Interojo, which sells Clarén and other brands, kept revenue at a level similar to a year earlier, but operating profit improved as it more than tripled from 5.8 billion won to 19.5 billion won.
During the same period, PPB Studios returned to the black, shifting from an operating loss in the 3.5 billion won range to an operating profit of 5.6 billion won. Last year's revenue rose 5.4% on-year to 31.3 billion won. PPB Studios' Hapa Kristin, known as the "Jang Won-young lens," is gaining popularity overseas, including in Japan and China.
Hapa Kristin opened the industry's first shop-in-shop at Olive Young's Seongsu store last year. The store recorded about 200 million won in monthly revenue just two months after opening. PPB Studios outsources manufacturing and focuses on brand operations to run its business.
Samjong KPMG Economic Research Institute said, "Hapa Kristin is positioning itself as a fashion beauty item based on lenses in a variety of colors and designs," and noted, "Domestic lenses are drawing attention from consumers at home and abroad for not only their designs but also superior comfort, as well as high technological capability and cost-effectiveness."
However, competition is gradually intensifying as Taiwanese companies such as Pegavision and St. Shine are rapidly expanding their market share in the global contact lens market. Taiwan exports 85% of its contact lens production, and the government is fostering it as an export-led industry.
According to global market research firm Statista, Korea's contact lens market size was estimated at $362 million (about 533.5 billion won) last year. It is expected to exceed $400 million (about 589.6 billion won) by 2029. The global market size is estimated at about 13 trillion to 15 trillion won.