Cosmetics Industry Growth Plans Unveiled
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced cosmetic industry development plans on Dec. 5. The plans cover R&D, deregulation, brand awareness enhancement and promotion.
According to the plans, import replacement projects will be launched with regard to cosmetic base materials such as surfactants and natural biological materials. A budget of 7.7 billion won will be invested to that end next year and the budget will be increased down the road. According to the ministry, the technological level of the local cosmetics industry is expected to be raised from 86.8 percent to 95 percent of the global level between last year and 2030 based on the investment. At the same time, the ratio of raw materials imported from Japan is expected to be lowered from 23.5 percent to 18 percent between last year and 2022.
As for deregulation, the ministry is going to abolish the duty of manufacturer labeling so that non-large companies’ overseas business can be facilitated and innovative technologies can be better protected. Until now, foreign companies have produced a lot of similar products and affected South Korean companies’ exports by taking advantage of the duty.
The world’s first customized cosmetics, in the meantime, are expected to become available in March next year based on individual skin diagnosis. This is characterized by sellers preparing and providing customer-specific products at their shops by reflecting customers’ skin conditions and preferences. The ministry is anticipating that at least 5,000 cosmetics preparation jobs will be created.
In addition, the ministry is planning to provide spaces for industry promotion and make-up experience in Myeongdong, Gangnam, and so on while establishing infrastructure for industry promotion, such as K-Beauty Clusters where cosmetics production, R&D, consulting and safety evaluation and certification can be handled at the same time based on private-public cooperation.
The purpose of the plans is to increase the number of South Korean cosmetics companies on the global top 100 list from four to at least seven by 2022 and increase South Korea’s cosmetics exports from US$6.3 billion to US$7.9 billion during the same period. In addition, the number of new jobs based on the plans is expected to reach 73,000.