Research Institute Launches Comprehensive Support Projects to Strengthen Competitiveness in the Cosmetics Industry by 2026
Establishing a Logistics Base in LA, USA and Providing Consulting for OTC Manufacturing Facility Registration
Aiming to secure global competitiveness in the domestic cosmetics industry and foster the export industry, the Korea Cosmetic Industry Research Institute (Director Jo Shinhaeng) announced on January 26th that it would officially begin the ‘Enhancing Global Competitiveness in the Cosmetics Industry’ project. Over the past year, cosmetics exports grew by 11.9% from the previous year, with remarkable achievements specifically in the U.S. market, raising the industry’s expectations for diversified export markets. Following this positive trend, the institute plans to introduce new initiatives for a new leap in Korean cosmetics exports while continually expanding successful existing support programs.
Strategies to Enhance Access to Overseas Markets
One of the significant barriers hindering K-Beauty’s overseas expansion is complex logistics and different regulations in each country. The institute profoundly sympathizes with these corporate challenges and has prepared practical support measures to enhance competitiveness in the U.S. market.
Operation of Cosmetics Logistics Warehouse in the U.S.
To reduce the logistics burden of domestic cosmetics companies exporting to the U.S., a dedicated cosmetics fulfillment business will start in February. The institute has secured a logistics warehouse in Los Angeles with storage capacity for 2,000 pallets, allowing domestic SMEs exporting or planning to export to the U.S. to utilize this fulfillment service with only a 30% self-burden. Starting with the recruitment of the first batch of participating companies by the end of January, the plan is to support more than 200 companies over three or more rounds this year. This is expected to enhance their logistics efficiency and accelerate their entry into the U.S. market.
Consulting for U.S. OTC Manufacturing Facility Registration
In Korea, products such as sunscreens, acne treatments, dandruff control, and hair loss products classified as cosmetics are considered over-the-counter (OTC) drugs in the U.S. This classification implies stringent regulations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), requiring high-level verification of safety, efficacy, and quality. The institute is undertaking a consulting support project for 25 domestic manufacturers wishing to register their facilities with the U.S. OTC. This project involves experts with FDA inspection experience and domestic experts reviewing documentation of production and quality systems operations, and supports mock inspections and on-site consulting within the year. For SMEs not selected for consulting, an explanatory guide to U.S. OTC regulations will be provided to ensure access to information for all companies.
Comprehensive Support for Securing Core Competitiveness
For the sustainable growth of K-Beauty, strengthening technological and research capabilities is essential. The institute will spare no effort in providing diverse support to solidify the foundation and secure future growth drivers of the domestic cosmetics industry.
Comprehensive Support for Domestically Produced Ingredients
With a significant portion of raw materials used in domestic cosmetics manufacturing depending on overseas imports, the localization of raw materials and the establishment of a stable supply chain are pressing tasks. Particularly, some functional ingredients that are a competitive edge of domestic cosmetics companies use self-developed materials, making support for material company growth urgent. The institute supports the entire process from the development to the sale of domestically produced raw materials, fully supporting quality control enhancements, securing efficacy and safety data for exports, and investing in facilities for mass production.
Specific support details include funding for building production facilities and equipment for mass production bases of domestic raw materials, funding for quality tests and inspections compliant with domestic and international cosmetics standards, and support for in-vivo and in-vitro tests, alternative animal toxicity tests, safety evaluation report preparation, and promotional marketing for efficacy and safety proof of raw materials. Through this support, domestically produced raw materials are expected to grow into competitive materials in the global market, significantly contributing to the sustainable development and increased self-reliance of the ingredient industry.
Enhancement of AI-based Export Information Provision
As the artificial intelligence ecosystem rapidly progresses, the institute is introducing LLM (large language model) services to provide more sophisticated technology documents related to cosmetics exports, including safety assessments, approvals, and export information. This AI learning-based service, beyond a simple chatbot, offers integrated, customized information throughout the entire cosmetics export cycle by consolidating fragmented information to provide reliable, tailored information to users. The service will leverage the institute’s accumulated safety evaluation information on cosmetic ingredients and natural ingredients to provide diverse inference services based on users’ duties and queries. This will be a crucial turning point to help companies quickly respond to rapidly changing global market information.
Elevating K-Beauty’s Global Status and Diversifying Marketing
Highlighting the charm of K-Beauty worldwide and reaching a broader consumer base through marketing and promotional activities cannot be overstated. The institute is dedicated to reinforcing K-Beauty’s status and expanding practical sales routes.
K-Beauty Experience and Promotion Center Busan 3rd Branch Opening
To further strengthen the K-Beauty brand image and increase product accessibility, the institute is remodeling the existing Myeong-dong and Hongdae experience centers into K-Beauty complex spaces. Notably, at the end of May, a new K-Beauty exhibition and experience space, the third center, will open in Gyeongsang Province (Busan). This place will be created as a convergent beauty culture space for both locals and foreign tourists, and marketing and promotional activities for SME products will be activated through cooperation with local governments. The new promotion center is expected to contribute to strengthening the industrial development base for southern region SMEs with a 50% priority allocation to local enterprises.
As export market diversification accelerates, the importance of digital content for effectively promoting brands and products to diverse overseas consumers, and marketing utilizing that content, grows more critical. Reflecting this industry demand, the institute supports the production of company-specific digital content usable in overseas online channels, and links with channel-specific marketing consulting projects. The support targets 100 domestic small to medium-sized cosmetics and beauty device brands using overseas e-commerce platforms and SNS channels, with content production and marketing consulting to be completed by the end of the year, starting with participant selection and preliminary consulting in March.
This comprehensive support will improve companies’ response capabilities to strengthened international regulations, such as the mandated submission of cosmetics safety assessment reports, and significantly contribute to building skin characteristic data for customized product development reflecting the individual needs of global consumers. The institute will continuously collect and provide skin and cosmetic usage information of about 15,000 people from 18 countries through the Skin Characteristic Information Bank, and plans to elevate K-Beauty’s global status through diverse marketing activities, including overseas live-commerce, influencer-linked promotions, and collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and KOTRA for large Hallyu cultural festivals, overseas Hallyu fairs, and K-Brand overseas promotion centers. To provide timely overseas market information, 10 editions of the Global Cosmetic Focus will be published throughout the year from March following corporate demand surveys, and ongoing support for U.S., EU, and China licensing consulting support projects.
Conclusion
The comprehensive support projects by the Korea Cosmetic Industry Research Institute in 2026 will play a critical role in assisting domestic cosmetics companies to strengthen their competitiveness and secure new growth drivers amid the rapidly changing global environment. From logistics efficiency to regulatory response, ingredient independence, and advanced AI technology utilization for information provision, as well as diverse marketing strategies, this support will serve as a reliable platform for the domestic beauty industry to make a substantial leap forward in the global market. The institute is keenly listening to industry opinions and is committed to developing and promoting various content and projects to ensure that Korean cosmetics companies have higher competitiveness and greater leaps in both domestic and international markets. The future of K-Beauty, leading global beauty trends through continuous innovation and market diversification, is highly anticipated.
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