Chips, Semiconductors, cars and transatlantic boats are some of the main products that South Korea exports. But there is a new sector that is bidding up in the last years and has been converted in an Western trend: that is the Korean cosmetics.
In 2016, South Korea has exported 3,441 Million Dollar in cosmetic products. Of that quantity, the 70% is destined to the China and Hong Kong markets, their main clients. The rest is sent in a 9% to USA and the other 23% for other countries.
Spain is between those other countries and our country occupies the fifteenth place in the world rank of Korean cosmetics exportations and the third in Europe, and it has growing expectations: in the last year, the Korean cosmetics exportations to Spain have grown in a 229%.
The Korean Cosmetics boom began in 2010 with the coming of the bb creams, a product that shuns the makeup base, skin hydration and sun protection in an only one cosmetic product. That was how other products broke through our market.
In fact, in Spain we can find different sales channels of Korean cosmetics. One of the pioneers in trading with Korean cosmetics in Spain is MiiN Cosmetics. This company was settled in 2014 in Barcelona, and now is also present in Madrid and Munich, and has an online shop with which supply a big share of European consumers.
We have a bullish tendency. From the year 2014, MiiN has duplicated their sales in their Barcelona shop and has triplicated their online sales, unless in Spain the Korean cosmetics rise has been united to the natural cosmetics. For that reason, in our country the two brands more demanded are Aromatica and Benton. Their not the most popular brands in South Korea, but they have had a great reception between the Spanish consumers.
South Korea is constantly working for develop new products and improve the existing ones. The South Korean are, in fact, very strict consumers in that aspect and it makes that brands in cosmetic sector seek the renovation constantly.
And is that South Korea is distinguished by the big investment in innovation, is the country that expends more GDP percentage in Research and Development in the whole world, to give us an idea, South Korea expend the 4.5%, that is, more than the twice average of the OECD (2.2%) and more than the triple of Spanish average (1.4%).
But, although the Korean cosmetic has irrupted in the European Market, the Eastern and Western facial care philosophy is so different. While in Western pilosophy we have the idea that we have to put makeup in the skin to show it prettier, in South Korea the idea is to take care of the skin for show it prettier both, men and women, equal.
And it is precisely this philosophy that has settled in Spain and the European Market in the last years. For that reason, the forecasts indicate that the Korean cosmetic is not a fad, but a lifestyle that has come to stay in Western market.
Korean Cosmetics renew the Western market aspect.
