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Korean Beauty Trends & Industry News: 24-03-06


Korea's Proactive Strategy Against Strengthened Global and Chinese Cosmetic Regulations

    As global cosmetic regulations tighten, the South Korean government is devising strategies to effectively respond to the changing regulations in major export countries, including China. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Ministry of Health and Welfare held the "2024 1st Cosmetic Safety Evaluation Support Council" meeting to discuss various plans for supporting the export of domestic cosmetics companies and enhancing their safety evaluation capabilities. These plans include hosting international forums for harmonizing domestic and international safety evaluation standards, strengthening technical exchange cooperation between Korean and Chinese regulatory agencies, compiling safety evaluation information, and providing education on cosmetic regulations in major export countries.

The Korea Cosmetic Industry Institute and the Korea Cosmetic Association are set to play crucial roles in expanding the collection and provision of toxicity information for different components, training professionals in safety evaluation, and enhancing the safety review system. These measures are increasingly important as China gradually intensifies its requirements for safety evaluation document submissions.

Shin Jun-soo, the Director-General of the Bio-Pharmaceuticals Division at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, emphasized that these initiatives are essential for strengthening the safety evaluation capabilities of the domestic cosmetic industry and expanding its global outreach. He urged all relevant organizations to actively communicate and cooperate to enhance the synergy of each support project, which is expected to play a significant role in ensuring the sustainable growth of K-beauty in the global market.


The Era of the Microbiome: Pioneering Research and Development in K-Beauty

    The K-beauty industry is embracing the advancements in microbiome technology, marking it as one of the hottest topics in the cosmetic field and leading to the creation of innovative products related to skin health.

GFCLifeScience and Korea Kolmar are at the forefront of microbiome-based research in the industry. GFCLifeScience has been integrating advanced bio-materials like skin microbiomes, plant stem cells, and exosomes into cosmetics, leading to innovative product development. After more than a decade of research and analyzing human-derived strains, they have developed skin microbiome materials and applied them not only in cosmetics but also in the medical device sector.

Korea Kolmar discovered a microbiome that inhibits skin aging due to UV exposure and has begun developing sun care products based on this finding. They have also developed a component that aids in alleviating hair loss and acquired patents for a scalp microbiome-based biomarker to increase the accuracy of hair loss diagnosis. Furthermore, in collaboration with CJ Olive Young, they are working on developing high-functional skincare products based on microbiome technology.

The application of microbiomes is rapidly growing in the cosmetic industry, extending beyond custom health foods and new drug development to include functional cosmetics for skin care. Research in areas such as anti-aging, hair loss mitigation, skin regeneration, and wound healing explores the potential of microbiomes, contributing to the opening of new horizons in the beauty industry.

This research and development enhance K-beauty's standing in the global market and provide consumers with safer and more effective products. Innovations based on microbiome technology redefine the future of the beauty industry, presenting a new paradigm for healthy skin care. K-beauty, leading the way in microbiome research, is poised to drive new trends in the future beauty industry with its commitment to sustainable growth and innovation.


Online Shopping Sales Maintain 20 Trillion Won, Boosted by Surge in Travel and Cosmetics Consumption

    Since the beginning of the new year, the online shopping market has continued its growth, recording a 12.1% increase over the previous year with a transaction volume of 20.28 trillion won. This growth has been primarily driven by a significant increase in travel and transportation services and cosmetics consumption. The surge in travel demand following the pandemic and the increase in cosmetics use with the lifting of mask mandates have been identified as the main contributing factors.

According to the Korean Statistical Office, travel and transportation services increased by 25.8% from the previous year, reaching 2.2827 trillion won. The cosmetics sector also saw a 21.2% increase in growth. Additionally, telecommunications equipment transactions experienced a 33.6% increase, reaching 665.1 billion won, largely influenced by the release of Samsung Electronics' new smartphone model.

The increase in foreign tourists, particularly from China, which surged more than eightfold compared to the previous year, has significantly contributed to the rise in online duty-free cosmetic sales. However, a slight decrease in consumption was observed compared to the previous month due to the Lunar New Year holiday moving to February. Despite this, year-over-year growth remains robust.

The trend in the online shopping market is expected to continue, with increased travel and cosmetics consumption acting as key drivers for market growth.
Location: 한국

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