Growing Skin Cosmetics Market
Korean beauty companies as well as pharmaceutical firms are scrambling for supremacy in dermacosmetics which has emerged as a new future growth engine in the cosmetics market.
Dermacosmetics, a compound word of dermatology, the branch of medicine dealing with the skin, and cosmeticd, comprehensively include cosmeceuticals, a compound word of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. According to the Korea Cosmeceutical Research Institute, the dermacosmetics market, which shows a relatively high annual average growth rate of 15 percent, was worth 500 billion won (US$441.5 million) as of last year. Some big beauty companies estimate the market at more than 1 trillion won (US$883 million) based on their own standards.
The dermacosmetics market is expanding not only domestically but also globally. The global dermacosmetics market is expected to record 81 trillion won (US$71.52 billion) in 2020, which is more than twice the figure of 35 trillion won (US$30.91 billion) in 2014. In particular, the market in China is forecast to grow by nearly four times from 23 billion yuan (3.86 trillion won) to 87 billion yuan (14.59 trillion won) over the same period, drawing attention from domestic dermacosmetics brands.
An official from the industry said, “K-beauty can enjoy a new golden age when the industry targets the growing dermacosmetics market based on Chinese consumers’ high degree of confidence in South Korean skincare brands. The industry also has the chance to push into the European and U.S. makeup markets, which have been difficult to penetrate due to luxurious foreign makeup brands, with its quality and functions.”