INDIAN BEAUTY MARKET GETS KOREAN TOUCH-UP
The Indian beauty and wellness market has found a Korean touch, thanks to a growing online presence and aided by a cultural affinity in the Northeast.
With a strong marketing pitch — from ginseng and bamboo masks to half baths, vitamin showers and a 10-step beauty routine that takes hours to execute every day — Korean brands such as Innisfree, The Face Shop, Tonymoly and Laneige are changing the face of the Indian market.
Their arsenal of natural serums, toners, masks and mists has shifted consumer focus from makeup to skin health. Catering to young, internet-savvy consumers already primed to Korean beauty standards through the cult-like popularity of Kpop and K-drama, these brands have gained quick ground in India.
Innisfree, one of the first Korean entrants in the Indian beauty market, is a case in point.
It launched in 2013 with a standalone store in Delhi’s upscale Khan Market. Driven by online sales (it started retailing with online beauty marketplace Nykaa in 2015) and a younger-by-the-day customer base, Innisfree has seen an overall 35 per cent increase in demand of its products in 2019 as compared to 2018.
“In 2020, of course, business has been slightly slow due to Covid-19,” says Mini Sood Banerjee, assistant director and head of marketing at Innisfree India. “But”, she adds, “there has been an increase in demand through the online platforms.”
The company estimates it has doubled its e-commerce business with Nykaa during the lockdown. So much so that during the Covid-19 slowdown, which has compelled many others to downsize, the parent company of Innisfree, Amorepacific, has chosen to launch its luxe beauty brand from Korea.
Sulwhasoo, introduced in India in July, features products priced between
~1,850 and ~17,000 (including a serum that reportedly sells at the rate of one every second in Korea).
“Since the lockdown in India, the digital beauty market has been showing explosive growth and the digital beauty market for luxury products has been expanding at a rapid pace,” says Doyoul Lee, managing director, Innisfree India, and general manager, Amorepacific India.
Because of their strong digital presence, demand for Korean brands is being driven as much by metros as it is by tier-two towns and parts of the Northeast. Clever algorithms direct audiences of K-pop and K-drama to Korean beauty commercials.
Manipur, for example, is a particularly good market. After the Revolutionary People’s Front, an influential political outfit, ordered a ban on Hindi films in 2000, local cable channels began to show Korean films and TV shows dubbed locally.
“Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram and Nagaland are also quite fond of our beauty products mainly due to their familiarity with Korean culture and Kpop stars,” says Seo Youngdoo, founder, Korikart,
Because of their strong digital presence, demand for Korean brands is being driven as much by metros as it is by tier-two towns and parts of the Northeast
India’s first online marketplace devoted solely to Korean products. “We’ve also observed growing consumption of Korean products in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.”
Youngdoo avers that the rising sentiment against buying Chinese products in India could result in further market gains for Korean players.
In the years ahead, Korean beauty care is poised for a larger share of the Indian market.
“When we launched in India, few consumers were aware of K-beauty concepts,” says Banerjee. “Now, consumers have evolved in their skincare regime as well as in purchasing beauty products online.”
As more and more consumers eschew concealers and contour makeup for that perfect Korean “glass” complexion, K-beauty is likely to be a trend to look out for in the year ahead.