K-beauty expands offline presence in US as demand surges

Korean beauty brands that built their presence in the U.S. through Amazon are now entering major retail stores. Walmart, Target, Costco, Sephora, and Ulta Beauty, often called the “Olive Young of America,” are expanding their Korean product lines to meet growing demand.

According to industry sources on July 22, Ulta recently introduced 13 new Korean beauty brands across its online and offline stores. These include skincare brands like VT Cosmetics, Medicube, Chasin’ Rabbits, I’m From, Mixsoon, Neogen, Some By Mi, and Sungboon Editor, along with makeup labels such as Tirtir, Fwee, Kaja, Unleashia, and Rom&nd.

A view of an Ulta Beauty store in Manhattan, New York. /Reuters-Yonhap

To bring these brands into its stores, Ulta partnered with Landing International, which operates the K-Beauty World platform. “This exclusive partnership makes it easier for beauty lovers across the country to explore K-beauty,” said Kaitlin Rinehart, vice president of merchandising at Ulta. “We’ve featured Korean skincare before, but now customers can find a wider range of categories and price points.”

Ulta, founded in 1990, has over 1,400 stores across the United States. Unlike Sephora, which focuses on high-end labels and is operated by luxury group LVMH, Ulta carries products that range from affordable to premium, earning it the nickname the “Olive Young of America.” Last year, Ulta reported $11.3 billion in sales and offered about 30,000 products from more than 600 brands.

The company has around 45 million loyalty members. Gen Z consumers, born between 1995 and the early 2010s, make up about half of its female customer base. In the second quarter of last year, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold off a large portion of its Apple shares and purchased more than 690,000 shares of Ulta for around $266 million.

However, as competition among U.S. retailers in the beauty sector intensifies, Ulta’s growth has slowed. The company is now turning to K-beauty to drive new momentum.

U.S. buyers explore K-beauty products at the Olive Young booth during Cosmoprof North America in Las Vegas on July 16, 2025. Cosmoprof is considered one of the world’s top three beauty trade shows. /CJ Olive Young

According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, South Korea overtook France last year to become the No. 1 cosmetics exporter to the U.S., with $1.7 billion in exports. In the first half of this year, Korean cosmetics exports to the U.S. rose by another 18% year-on-year.

Fueled by viral trends on TikTok and YouTube and strong sales on Amazon, Korean beauty products are reaching more retail shelves across the U.S. Target plans to expand its K-beauty section from 1,600 stores to all 1,978 by year-end. Sephora has doubled its Korean brand lineup, while Walmart and Costco are also increasing their K-beauty offerings.

While the U.S. is set to impose a 25% tariff on Korean imports starting Aug. 1, the beauty industry remains optimistic. Manufacturers like Kolmar Korea and Cosmax have expanded local production, and Amorepacific is considering building a manufacturing facility in the U.S.

CJ Olive Young established a U.S. branch earlier this year and is preparing to open its first store in Los Angeles. An industry official said, “There are concerns about rising prices and shrinking profit margins due to tariffs, but we’re hopeful that demand in the U.S. market will remain strong.”

[Kim Eun-young]

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