Korea surpasses France in cosmetics exports to US in 2024

Times Square in Manhattan showcases APR's beauty brand, Medicube, March 20. Courtesy of APR Export share jumps 54.3 percent from previous year By Ko Dong-hwan Korea surpassed France last year in beauty product exports to the United States, the Korea International Trade Association said Monday, marking the first time Korea outpaced the European nation in the category.

Korea exported over $1.7 billion worth of beauty products to the U.S.



, capturing 22.4 percent of the total U.S.

import market. This marks a 54.3 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Total U.S. imports of beauty products in 2024 reached over $7.

59 billion, marking a 13.7 percent increase from the previous year. France’s beauty product exports to the U.

S. last year reached over $1.26 billion, accounting for 16.

6 percent of total U.S. imports.

The figure is a 9.4 percent jump from the previous year. Canada, Italy and China followed, exporting $1.

02 billion, $879 million and $671 million, respectively. France was the top beauty product exporter to the U.S.

until 2023. Since 2020, the country’s exports have been increasing annually, from $783 million to $1.15 billion.

During this period, its export share has remained between 16 and 18 percent. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Korean beauty product exports to the U.S.

last year saw an increase from the previous year in key product categories. Basic makeup products jumped 66.8 percent, to $1.

4 billion from $840 million. Color cosmetic products jumped 25.8 percent, to $260 million from $210 million.

Body cleansing products jumped 122.2 percent, to $90 million from $40 million. Korea’s beauty product exports to the U.

S. have been steadily increasing each year, surpassing $1 billion for the first time in 2023 when it exported over $1.1 billion, accounting for 16.

5 percent of total U.S. beauty product imports.

In that year, France led Korea by less than 1 percent in export share. Last year, Korea's top destination for beauty products was China, with $2.5 billion in exports.

The U.S. ranked second, followed by Japan with $1 billion in exports.

For the first time, the United Arab Emirates entered Korea’s top 10 beauty product export destinations, with exports totaling $170 million. Korea’s beauty product exports to China last year, however, slumped to the lowest level in the past four years. In 2021, China accounted for 53.

2 percent of Korea’s total beauty product exports but the figure has declined since, dropping to 45.4 percent, 32.8 percent and 24.

5 percent in subsequent years. Korean beauty products went viral in the U.S.

through online social networking platforms such as TikTok and Reddit and have also grown popular in offline giant chain stores and major e-commerce platforms like Costco and Amazon..