Korean Beauty Trends & Industry News: 24-02-26

Samyang Group's KCI Achieves Top Global ESG Rating

    Samyang Group's cosmetics and personal care materials subsidiary, KCI, has been awarded the highest 'Platinum Medal' by the global ESG assessment organization EcoVadis. This prestigious rating is reserved for the top 1% of companies worldwide, recognizing their outstanding performance in environmental, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement practices.

Since 2013, KCI has participated in EcoVadis' sustainability assessments, previously earning Silver and Gold medals. This year, the company was particularly commended for its establishment of an ESG committee under its board, employee training initiatives, improvements in labor and human rights management, and enhancements in supply chain management through partner evaluations.

KCI's CEO, Lee Jin-yong, emphasized the growing importance of ESG management levels in global companies' partner selection criteria. He stated, "Based on the results of this evaluation, we will accelerate our expansion into the global market and leap forward as an eco-friendly personal care materials company spreading sustainable health and beauty worldwide."

KCI has also secured certifications for sustainable palm oil production (RSPO), environmental management (ISO14001), and occupational health and safety management systems (ISO45001), among others. The company participates in sustainability initiatives like the UN Global Compact and Responsible Care, and publishes an annual sustainability report to transparently share its vision, strategy, and financial and non-financial performance.

Looking ahead, KCI plans to internalize ESG management and pursue long-term strategies to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Hwahae Transforms into a Beauty Brand Acceleration Platform

    After 11 years, Birdview's beauty platform Hwahae has undergone a significant rebranding, emerging as "Hwahae 2.0." This transformation aims to assist consumers in making informed choices and to foster the growth of beauty brands, positioning Hwahae as a leading beauty brand acceleration platform.

The new brand identity features the 'Polaris' symbol and English text, moving away from the original Korean text. This change highlights the platform's expansion into B2C and B2B sectors and its global market applicability, symbolizing discovery, growth, transparency, and diversity. Hwahae's mission is to provide personalized experiences to consumers and to partner with brands for mutual growth.

Since its launch in 2013, Hwahae has addressed information asymmetry in the beauty industry by offering user reviews, product ingredients, rankings, and beauty content. It has become the definitive beauty platform in Korea, boasting 3.3 million product information entries, 8.2 million review data entries, 12 million cumulative downloads, and 1 million monthly active users (MAU).

To tackle information overload and the need for personalized services, Hwahae has integrated recommendation algorithms, search, and AI technology into its platform, enhancing consumer decision-making. These efforts connect consumers' choices with brand growth, accelerating the development and success of various beauty brands.

Collaborations with Hwahae have led brands like Round Lab, Torriden, Esnature, and Beplain to achieve significant milestones, including entering Olive Young stores, expanding overseas, and reaching sales of 100 billion won. Hwahae plans to expand its Brand Acceleration Program (BAP) in the latter half of the year and aims to open a global mall by 2025 to support brands' international ventures.

Birdview's CEO, Lee Woong, stated, "Based on the trust we've built over the past decade by creating a consumer-centric market, we aim to enhance user experiences and connect consumers' choices with brands, contributing to the growth of the beauty industry ecosystem as a unique beauty brand acceleration platform."

Gyeonggi Province Supports Development of Natural Material-Based Beauty and Healthcare Innovations

    Gyeonggi Province announced its proactive support for the development of bio new materials through the "2024 Natural and Synthetic Material Development Project." This initiative targets bio small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), focusing on the development of beauty and healthcare materials and the operation of a green bio material bank.

The project aims to enhance functional materials and discover new substances for beauty products, while also exploring new functional healthcare materials and utilizing existing research for advanced studies. The developed materials will be listed in the green bio material bank, allowing bio companies to acquire material extracts.

To promote the commercialization of beauty materials, Gyeonggi Province plans to support clinical trials for functional cosmetics. Eligible companies, including those with headquarters, research centers, or manufacturing facilities in Gyeonggi Province, can receive up to 12 million won in clinical trial costs for selected projects.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government's Bio Industry Division, with its team of professional researchers, has transferred seven core technologies to bio companies over the past three years, aiding the growth of local bio startups. The division will continue to provide close consultation to local bio SMEs, solving R&D challenges and offering both original and newly developed technologies.

Gyeonggi Province's Bio Industry Division Director, Han Tae-sung, emphasized the region's commitment to supporting the initial growth of various bio SMEs through material development and technology transfer. He assured continued efforts to enhance efficient R&D and product commercialization for local bio companies. Interested companies can find more information and apply through the Gyeonggi Province website or the EasyBiz platform.

Korean Beauty and Food SMEs Target the Middle Eastern Market with Export Consultation Meetings

    Promising small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are making strides into the Middle Eastern market. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Federation of SMEs are hosting "K-Business Day in the Middle East 2024" export consultation meetings in Riyadh and Dubai. The events are scheduled for the 27th in Saudi Arabia and the 29th in the UAE.

These meetings will bring together 20 Korean SMEs and approximately 140 Middle Eastern buyers in Riyadh and Dubai, capitalizing on the Hallyu (Korean Wave) craze for beauty, food, and consumer goods. The initiative follows a framework cooperation program between the Ministry and Saudi Investment Ministry and an economic cooperation MOU signed during President Yoon Suk-yeol's state visit to the UAE last December, aiming to bolster support for Korean companies in the Middle East.

Innovatively, the meetings will feature Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S24 real-time translation function and Naver's Clova OCR technology, piloting digital transformation policies to facilitate international business communication and document management.

Preliminary consultations have paved the way for companies like Cellbycell and Ionpolis to negotiate long-term sales contracts and MOU signings with distributors in Kuwait and the UAE, respectively.

Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Director of Small Business Policy, Lee Dae-hee, highlighted the meetings as an excellent opportunity to reaffirm the success potential of Korean SMEs in the Middle Eastern market. He expressed plans to further expand Middle Eastern ventures through public-private support, enhancing the global business expansion opportunities for Korean SMEs.