(Ably)
South Korean fashion platforms are accelerating competition in the private-label beauty market as the global K-beauty boom continues to fuel rapid industry growth.
Major platforms including Ably and Musinsa are expanding their beauty businesses by launching and broadening their own cosmetics brands, using affordability and trend-focused branding to attract younger consumers.
According to industry officials on Tuesday, Ably launched its beauty private brand “BYBLY” last month, targeting consumers in their teens and 20s with reasonably priced products and trendy marketing.
Its first product, a cushion foundation nicknamed “Moon Cushion,” carries a list price of 30,000 won ($20.11), but promotional discounts allow consumers to purchase it in the mid-10,000 won to low-20,000 won range, placing it in the affordable segment of the cushion market.
Ably said transaction volume among teenage customers surged elevenfold during the week of May 4-10 from the previous week, while purchases by consumers in their 20s increased more than 27 times.
The company plans to launch mascara products in June and gradually expand its lineup with a focus on color cosmetics.
To strengthen its beauty private-label business, Ably last year recruited Kang Im-kyu, a former business analyst at McKinsey & Company and former chief strategy officer at Fresheasy.
Musinsa, which entered the beauty private-label market earlier, is also seeing rapid growth. Since launching “Musinsa Standard Beauty” in 2021, the company has expanded its portfolio to four beauty brands, including ODDTYPE, WHIZZY and NoTheLove.
Last year alone, Musinsa introduced two additional beauty brands as it accelerated expansion efforts.
The company has emphasized affordability as a key competitive advantage. In March last year, Musinsa Standard Beauty released three sunscreen products manufactured by Cosmax at 5,900 won each. It later launched skincare products priced between 3,900 won and 5,900 won.
Musinsa said first-quarter sales from its beauty private brands jumped 140 percent from a year earlier. The company also plans to double related staffing levels by the first half of this year.
Kurly is also preparing to launch its own beauty private brand during the first half of the year. While the company introduced “Beauty Kurly” in 2022, it has so far focused mainly on distributing existing beauty brands.
Recently, Kurly reportedly filed trademark applications for several new names as it moves toward final brand selection.
The aggressive expansion by platform operators comes as South Korea’s beauty market continues posting robust growth. Major beauty companies such as APR, Goodai Global and CJ Olive Young all reported record annual sales last year as overseas demand for K-beauty products expanded rapidly.
According to Statistics Korea, the size of South Korea’s cosmetics industry grew from 13.29 trillion won in 2022 to 17.54 trillion won in 2024. Industry estimates suggest the market exceeded 18 trillion won last year.
“Platforms can leverage the consumer data they already possess in the beauty business while extending their fashion-focused branding capabilities into beauty categories,” an industry official said.
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