Cosmeceuticals Business as Next Growth Engine
Dongkook Pharmaceutical Co., a producer of such medicine as “Insadol,” “Madecasol” and contrast media, is now shifting its focus to the global cosmeceuticals market. This is part of its plans to promote cosmeceuticals as its next growth engine. Cosmeceuticals are cosmetic products with bioactive ingredients purported to have medically proven benefits.
According to pharmaceutical and bio industry sources on August 26, Dongkook Pharmaceutical, which has joined the domestic cosmeceuticals market with a “Madeca Cream”called “Centellian 24,” is seeking to expand global sales of the new product.
Vice Chairman Kwon Ki-bum, son of the founder, has been pushing ahead with the expansion of cosmeceuticals business to secure the company’s new growth engine. Starting with the release of Madeca Cream, which is a whitening and wrinkle-improving functional product, in April 2015 in South Korea, Dongkook Pharmaceutical has expanded its product lines to lotions, serums, sunscreens, body products and male cosmetics.
As a result, the company’s cosmetics sales grew from 40 billion won (US$35.89 million) in 2016 to 50 billion won (US$44.86 million) in 2017, according to industry estimation. The figure in the first half of this year is estimated at 30 billion won (US$26.92 million). The percentage of cosmeceuticals from the total sales is also on the rise from 13 percent in 2016, 15 percent in 2017 and 17 percent in the first half of the year.
Dongkook Pharmaceutical, which has gained confidence from the achievements in the domestic market, is rapidly widening its horizons to the global market. The company has been releasing Centellian 24 products in the United States and Singapore from last year, staring with Taiwan, and it is also expected to generate new global sales in many countries this year.
The company will first generate new sales from online shopping malls in the US starting from this year. It has begun selling its Centellian 24 products via Costco’s online website in the US in January.
In addition, Dongkook Pharmaceutical has secured the conditions to sell its products in other countries, such as Japan, Malaysia and Australia. Accordingly, the company is forecast to generate sales in the regions staring from the second half of this year. It will push into the European and Chinese markets as well. Currently, it has completed the clinical studies for Madeca Cream at the IEC, which carries out several clinical efficacy studies and consumer tests for dermatological products in France. It has also received approval from the China Food and Drug Administration with the same product. When Dongkook Pharmaceutical succeeds in entering the European and Chinese markets, it will hold the world’s top three largest cosmetic markets – the US, China and Japan – and the seventh largest, France.