Functional shampoos for hair loss are emerging as a new export driver for K-beauty. As the beauty boom, once centered on skincare and color cosmetics, spreads to the hair and scalp care market, Korea's corporations are accelerating their push into overseas markets including North America, Japan and Southeast Asia.
According to the industry on the 20th, LG H&H's hair loss and scalp care brand Dr. Groot is ramping up its push into the North American market after entering Sephora in the United States. After joining Sephora's online mall in Mar., it recently soft-launched in about 90 major U.S. stores. It will begin sales at more than 400 stores across the United States in Aug.
Dr. Groot expanded sales on Amazon and TikTok Shop after entering more than 600 Costco stores in North America last year. Its annual North American sales grew more than 800% on-year last year, and it continued triple-digit growth in the first quarter this year.
Amorepacific is putting forward the scalp and hair loss brand Ryo. The women's tailored hair loss symptom care line Ryo Truezen entered the China market early last year after Malaysia and Singapore. On Amazon, it sells lines such as Jayang Yoonmo and Heukyun Saenggi. In particular, the hair loss care concept highlighting herbal medicine ingredients is resonating with consumers in Greater China and Southeast Asia.
Wyatt, which operates the hair loss shampoo brand Dr.Forhair and the hair treatment brand UNOVE, surpassed annual sales of 100 billion won for the first time last year on the back of growth in overseas markets. Centered on the United States and Japan, sales increased as its flagship product Polygen Shampoo gained word-of-mouth.
Recently, the so-called "skinification" trend of caring for the scalp like skin is drawing attention in the global market. As more consumers scrutinize functionality such as scalp health, ingredients, and hair loss alleviation and prevention, interest in shampoos made by K-beauty corporations is growing.
In fact, K-beauty's growth is standing out in the hair and scalp institutional sector. According to market research firm Grand View Research, the Korean-style hair and scalp care market is projected to grow at an average annual rate of more than 10.5% from 2023 to 2030. That outpaces the projected growth rate of the overall K-beauty market at 9.3%.
Among them, hair loss shampoos are evaluated as a field where product strength has been built up amid long-standing interest from domestic consumers and competition among companies. According to the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), Korea's hair loss care market is estimated to have expanded from about 300 billion won in 2020 to about 500 billion won last year.
There is also a view that the market has strong growth potential. The population worried about hair loss is said to be about 1 billion worldwide and about 10 million in Korea alone. The size of the global hair loss-related market is expected to grow from $11.4 billion (about 17.5 trillion won) this year to $26.8 billion (about 41.2 trillion won) in 2033. In particular, North America is cited as the largest market, accounting for 38.2% of the global market.
Competition around the hair loss market is also expanding beyond shampoos to overall scalp care. Corporations are expanding their lineups from simple cleansing to professional care products such as ampoules, serums and treatments. Shinsegae International's hair care brand IM launched the scalp ampoule Scalp Shot to alleviate hair loss symptoms, and Refilled introduced items such as a scalp booster and treatments.
Polyphenol Factory, a KAIST startup that runs the hair care brand Gravity, released a functional volumizing tonic for hair loss that sprays like a mist. Lee Hae-shin, a distinguished professor of chemistry at KAIST who developed the product, said, "Hair loss care products are evolving beyond symptom relief to consider both scalp health and styling."