It does not seem like the popularity of K-beauty will end as a short-lived fad. The global consumer goods market is polarizing, and Korean indie brands are meeting consumer needs by putting forward overwhelming quality at reasonable prices. Bitelab has also grown by making what customers want and solving problems, and our goal is to become the No. 1 global hair care brand in this way going forward.
In Korea's beauty and commerce industries, it is rare to find corporations that have grown into companies with annual sales in the tens of billions of won solely through their own brand business without external investment. One such case is Bitelab. Founded in 2020, Bitelab achieved 60 billion won in consolidated annual sales last year, including subsidiaries. Bitelab operates the hair care brand lilyeve, the skin care brand Saekdong Seoul, and the lifestyle brand Baruner.
For the first time since its founding, Bitelab last month attracted an investment in the 10 billion won range from Atinum Investment and CJ Olive Young. Bitelab is the first indie hair care brand that CJ Olive Young has invested in. Chief Executive Cho Yong-hun of Bitelab met with ChosunBiz at Bitelab's headquarters in Gangnam District, Seoul, on the 10th, and said, I think taking investment is ultimately buying time, adding, With interest in K-beauty rising, now is the right time to speed up.
At the same time, Cho said, At this point, a speed race is crucial to quickly secure the global hair care market, and While people in Korea feel K-beauty is already well known abroad, overseas indicators in places like the United States show K-beauty's penetration is still low. Korean cosmetics that have both quality and price competitiveness still have plenty of room to grow.
He did not start by creating a beauty brand. Cho first saw a cultural shift in which companion animals are treated like family and achieved his first success with a pet supplement business. He then made multiple attempts in cosmetics but went through trial and error. While pondering how to deliver results, he decided to target the points customers perceive as problems rather than building a brand that merely looks good. The product that emerged was lilyeve's scalp care line, Growturn.
Lilyeve carried out a rebranding centered on Growturn and settled into the market by entering CJ Olive Young in Feb. last year. The strategy of sharply penetrating the high-priced after-care market, which supplies nutrients directly to the scalp after washing hair, hit the mark. Lilyeve has now established itself as the core flagship brand, accounting for more than half of Bitelab's total sales. It ranked No. 1 in Amazon U.S.'s hair care category and in Mar. signed a contract to enter 600 Ulta Beauty stores in the United States.
Cho cited an execution-focused organizational culture as the background for Bitelab's rapid growth. He said, We work by forming a hypothesis, executing quickly to check the results, and immediately reflecting, adding, I think delegating a lot of decision-making authority to members increased our growth speed. The following is a Q&A with Cho.
- The first business item was pet supplements.
I thought about where the biggest change in the consumer goods market would occur. I believed it would be the pet market. In the past, many households kept dogs on the veranda, and even the term companion animal was unfamiliar. But at some point, companion animals were coming into the family. Market research showed there still were not many related products. If companion animals are becoming family, I thought health would be the first concern. So I started pet supplements. In the first year, we made about 3.5 billion won in sales, and about 10 billion won the following year. I think we were able to grow quickly because we rode the wave of change.
- How did you start the cosmetics business?
I always thought we would have to do cosmetics someday. I liked cosmetics, and from a business perspective I saw cosmetics as an attractive category. But because everyone knows cosmetics is a good business, competition is fierce, and you need a lot of investment to make an early-stage brand known to the public. That is why I started with the pet supplement business. We generated revenue from that business and, starting in 2021, kept trying cosmetics. We created several brands, but they did not do well. Then I changed my thinking. Instead of creating a cosmetics brand that looks good, we decided to first do what consumers need.
For example, while fundamental areas like moisturizing are important, most brands focus on them, making it hard for an early brand to persuade customers. In contrast, in areas where customers strongly feel there is a problem—like acne, wrinkles, and cellulite—you can persuade them if you solve the problem. In that process, we created a product called Growturn and grew rapidly. In Jan. last year, we rebranded hair care under the lilyeve brand.
- What sets lilyeve apart in the hair care market?
Lilyeve focused on after-shower scalp care. Hair care can be divided into washing and replenishing nutrients. We saw an opportunity in the question of why people apply skin care after washing their faces but put nothing on the scalp. The scalp is also skin. We focused on after-shower products applied to the scalp and grew that market. We persuaded customers to feel that the scalp also needs care. Since then, we have been expanding the lineup to shampoo, treatment, and more.
- You recently took your first external investment. Why now?
I think investment is an act of buying time. Until now, there were not many tasks where speed was crucial. If we earned a lot, we operated accordingly; if we earned less, we operated accordingly, and it was fine. But I believed the global hair care market needs to be secured quickly. I think a report card on who does K-hair care best could come out within one to two years. At times like this, securing the market quickly is effective, and virality spreads better. I see this as a section where efficiency relative to expense grows.
- Where do you plan to spend the investment most?
Hiring is the most important. When you hire good people, they influence the organization and accelerate brand growth. We also plan to focus on products, marketing, and securing safety stock.
- You run multiple brands. Is there a common philosophy that runs through Bitelab?
It is to make products that customers want. The values a brand pursues are important, but rather than pouring effort into abstractions, we want to offer practical help. Customers choose brands that provide what they need. Brands must solve customers' problems.
- You cited organizational culture as the background for rapid growth. How does Bitelab work?
We prioritize execution. We form a hypothesis, execute quickly to see the results, and then reflect. Rather than debating at length what is right, we move in an execution-centered way. To execute quickly, decision-making authority needs to be pushed down. At Bitelab, delegation is well established so that members can decide at their level, and there is a high degree of freedom. If there is a reason, it is a culture where you can try anything.
We also pursue high standards. Even as we acknowledge a job well done when something is achieved, we simultaneously ask where we need to go next. Instead of saying, We did this last quarter, so let's do that this quarter, we ask, We have to be No. 1, so what should we do? Cross-team collaboration also works well. To that end, we share overall strategy extensively and regularly create opportunities for communication.
- What are your goals for this year or the mid-to-long term?
This year, our goal is to surpass 100 billion won in sales. Within the next two to three years, we want to become brand corporations with a scale of 300 billion to 500 billion won. This does not only mean we want to hit financial figures. We want to build a brand our members can feel proud of and say, We are a truly excellent company. Our goal is to become the No. 1 brand in scalp and hair loss care in the global market.