Kolmar Korea Plant Visit Highlights SMEs’ Growing Role in K-Beauty Exports

South Korea’s small-business minister visited Kolmar Korea’s cosmetics plant in Sejong as the government and industry look for ways to help independent beauty brands expand overseas during a surge in global demand for Korean skincare.

Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young toured the manufacturing facility on Friday and met company executives and ministry officials to discuss industry challenges and measures to improve the competitiveness of Korean cosmetics producers, Kolmar Korea said Sunday. The visit put a spotlight on the contract manufacturing system that allows smaller brands to develop and sell products without building their own factories.

The talks came as cosmetics have become South Korea’s largest export category among small and medium-sized enterprises. The country exported about $7.34 billion of cosmetics in the first half of 2026, including shipments by both large companies and SMEs. Skincare products accounted for $5.48 billion, or 74.7 percent of the total.

SME cosmetics exports reached $5.07 billion over the same period, an increase of 30.7 percent from a year earlier. That performance shows how smaller labels have become a central part of the K-beauty industry’s international growth, while manufacturers provide the research, formulation and production capacity needed to bring products to market at scale.

Kolmar Korea specializes in skincare and sun-care products, which account for 50 percent and 26 percent of its sales, respectively. Its Sejong plant has annual capacity to produce 890 million cosmetic units and serves as a major manufacturing base for products that have gained traction abroad. The company produces all of its skincare and sunscreen products at the facility.

The manufacturer plans to expand production in Sejong to meet rising global demand. It closed its Beijing factory earlier this year and was designated a reshoring company after deciding to strengthen its manufacturing operations in South Korea. The move links K-beauty’s export momentum with an expansion of domestic industrial capacity.

Kolmar Korea Chief Executive Choi Hyun-kyu said the company would work to help small and independent brands improve their competitiveness in overseas markets. He also pledged closer cooperation with client companies to support the broader growth of K-beauty.

For policymakers, the challenge is to turn fast-rising demand into durable growth by helping young brands navigate overseas distribution, regulation and marketing. For manufacturers, continued investment in domestic capacity will be critical if they are to keep pace with a market increasingly driven by a wide range of smaller labels rather than a handful of established cosmetics groups.