The food-beauty collaboration pipeline is gaining an unconventional contender.
Skin care brand Glow Recipe has joined forces with Korean spicy noodle brand Buldak to launch a limited-edition duo that features its Glass Balm in two tinted iterations inspired by Buldak’s most popular sauces, Original and Carbonara.
The collaboration comes as Buldak, which is owned by Samyang Foods, continues to soar in popularity in the U.S., growing its reach in particular via social media platforms like TikTok — where the duo will launch first.
“For us, this collaboration is a love letter to the foods we grew up with and the culture and global community that shaped us,” said Christine Chang, who is cofounder and co-chief executive officer of Glow Recipe alongside Sarah Lee, both of whom are Korean-American.
Priced at $38, the Glow Recipe x Buldak Glass Balm Duo debuts Thursday via TikTok Shop, and will roll out to sephora.com on Oct. 23 and in-store on Nov. 2.
An online sensation, Buldak has 2.3 million followers on TikTok and has sold more than 92,000 products via TikTok Shop, while Glow Recipe, similarly a social-savvy brand since its inception in 2014, has 1.9 million followers and has sold roughly 123,000 products via the app.
“[Buldak] has been one of the most impactful examples of Korean culture traveling the world through shared experience and social conversation,” said Lee. “We feel that there are parallels to how Glow Recipe grew, from bringing Korean beauty to the U.S. to building a community that turned our skin care products into cult favorites.”
Indeed, Korean beauty has become a key category in the U.S. in recent years, while food-beauty crossovers have soared during the same period. Earlier this month, Bag Balm teamed with tinned fish brand Fishwife for a limited-edition collection and packaging, while other partnerships of late have included an Auntie Anne’s eau de parfum, a Chipotle x Wonderskin lip stain, and a collection of soda-inspired lip balms from Bubble and Poppi.
“Buldak has grown into far more than a food brand. Our fans have turned it into a culture of its own. Partnering with Glow Recipe lets us meet that community in a completely new space,” said Abbas Arslan, vice president of marketing for Buldak. “For us, this is about growing Buldak as a lifestyle brand and reaching new audiences where they already are.”