A cosmetics store in Seoul. [Yonhap]
A cosmetics store in Seoul. [Yonhap]

The government has moved to forge ties with Brazil's cosmetics industry and the country's largest e-commerce platform to help South Korean small and medium-sized cosmetics companies break into the Latin American market.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups visited the Brazilian Association of the Personal Hygiene, Perfumery and Cosmetics Industry (ABIHPEC) and Mercado Libre, Latin America's largest e-commerce platform, in São Paulo on Sunday (local time), discussing ways to expand the presence of K-beauty small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Brazil, the ministry announced Monday.

Brazil is one of the world's major beauty markets, but geographic distance and other factors have kept South Korean companies' foothold there relatively limited. Growing interest in K-beauty, driven by the spread of K-pop and Korean drama series, has recently drawn attention to the country as a new export destination. Brazil also attracts beauty industry interest for its abundant natural plant-based ingredients found around the Amazon basin.

The ministry focused the visit on expanding market entry through online channels and building a cooperation framework between the two countries' beauty industries.

With ABIHPEC, discussions covered cooperation across the entire cosmetics value chain, including the raw materials sector. Topics included building business networks and sharing information between companies from the two countries, pursuing joint research and development and production that combines Brazil's natural resources with South Korean technology, and coordinating responses to cosmetics export regulations.

With Mercado Libre, both sides agreed to expand support for listing South Korean small and medium-sized cosmetics brands on the platform and boosting their promotion and marketing. The government, relevant agencies and the platform will jointly provide fiscal and technical support. The two sides also discussed a plan for Mercado Libre to visit South Korea and hold consultations with K-beauty brands seen as having strong potential in the Latin American market.

The cooperation extends a strategy to diversify K-beauty export markets. As efforts to establish a foothold in high-growth Latin American markets — beyond major destinations such as the United States, China and Japan — gain momentum, securing both a local industry association and a platform company as partners at the same time gives the initiative added significance.

The government is also broadening its support beyond opening sales channels to include joint research and development and local network building, which is expected to further strengthen the foundation for South Korean cosmetics SMEs to enter the Latin American market.

"For cosmetics — the top export item among small and medium-sized enterprises — to take another leap toward becoming the world's No. 1 industry, we need to build a more solid industrial ecosystem and further diversify export markets," said Noh Yong-seok, first vice minister of SMEs and Startups. "We will work to develop concrete cooperation measures so that collaboration with Brazil, a country rich in natural resources and dynamic culture, can serve as an opportunity to address these challenges."


boo@heraldcorp.com