SEJONG — Visiting Kolmar Korea's (161890) cosmetics plant in Sejong on the 16th, Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young pointed to a sunscreen from domestic cosmetics company d'Alba Global on display and said with a pleased expression that it was a product she uses herself. "Sunscreens seem to have gotten so much better lately. There is no white cast at all," she said, praising the quality of Korean K-beauty products. Looking at cosmetics from Beauty of Joseon, Mediheal and AHC, she also said they were "products I have tried," showing keen interest.
The minister's visit to the Sejong plant was aimed at examining the role of cosmetics original development manufacturing (ODM) companies — the unsung drivers of K-beauty exports — and exploring ways to support smaller cosmetics brands in expanding overseas. Founded in 1990 as Korea's first cosmetics ODM company, Kolmar Korea handles everything from product development to production and sits at the core of the K-beauty industry. Brands drawing attention in global markets, including Beauty of Joseon and d'Alba, also tap Kolmar Korea's technology.
During the plant tour, Lee showed particular interest in Kolmar Korea's role and influence in cosmetics markets at home and abroad. After hearing that the company supports brand owners who come in with nothing more than a product idea — covering research and development, ingredient formulation and manufacturing as well as marketing direction and distribution connections — she asked, "So you are doing almost everything up to incubation?" She went on to describe Kolmar Korea as "something like a cradle for small and mid-sized beauty companies."
Kolmar Korea is called a cradle of K-beauty because it takes charge of product development through production for a large number of small and indie cosmetics brands. The Sejong plant runs 38 filling and packaging lines and produces 2,500 to 3,000 different cosmetics items a month. Annual production capacity reaches about 600 million units. A quality control system is applied across the entire process from ingredient formulation to filling and packaging, and since 2023 the company has managed production processes in real time through a digital system. That means even new brands without their own manufacturing facilities can bring products to market using Kolmar Korea's R&D capabilities and production infrastructure.
A roundtable that followed took up the difficulties facing K-beauty exporters. Attendees included Lee, Kolmar Korea CEO Choi Hyun-kyu, Kolmar Korea Vice President Lee Young-joo and Shim Jae-yoon, director general for global growth policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
Choi singled out the flood of counterfeit cosmetics overseas as the biggest concern for K-beauty companies. "We are working hard to export to North America and Europe, but with so many copycat products — knockoffs, to put it bluntly — coming out, small indie brands are having serious trouble with marketing," he said. Counterfeits of popular products from Beauty of Joseon and APR (278470) were in fact recently detected by the Ministry of Intellectual Property. Shim said the ministry is "working with the Ministry of Intellectual Property and discussing response measures among relevant agencies" to address the counterfeit problem.
Cosmetics rules that differ from country to country are another headache for exporters. "In the United States, sunscreen is classified as an over-the-counter (OTC) drug rather than a general cosmetic," Vice President Lee Young-joo said. "Small brand owners sometimes struggle because they do not fully understand ingredient regulations and customs requirements that vary by country."
The minister also asked why K-beauty companies have been able to win such popularity in overseas markets. Choi pointed to differentiated product concepts, fast decision-making systems and marketing skills using social network services.
"Most of the heads of successful indie brands are young founders aged 38 or under," Choi said. "Their competitiveness lies in reading consumer trends quickly and moving fast on decisions and product launches." He added, "We will look for ways to nurture promising indie brands and set out growth directions together with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups."