Kolmar Korea, Cosmax launch second-half new-graduate recruitment drives

Openings span R&D, marketing and overseas sales

Combined headcount up 48.7% in four years as K-beauty boom drives expansion

A makeup demonstration takes place at the 2026 Korea Beauty Festival held at Hiker Ground in Jung-gu, Seoul, on June 25. [Yonhap]
A makeup demonstration takes place at the 2026 Korea Beauty Festival held at Hiker Ground in Jung-gu, Seoul, on June 25. [Yonhap]

The long Chuseok holiday gives job seekers a chance to reflect on their career paths — and for those still undecided, the globally surging K-beauty industry may be worth a closer look. Riding the K-beauty boom, Kolmar Korea and Cosmax, the country's two leading cosmetics original development manufacturing companies, have both launched second-half recruitment drives for new graduates. As their businesses expand, both firms have been adding staff every year.

ODM giants open doors to new graduates

According to industry sources, Kolmar Korea and the broader Kolmar group are accepting applications for their 2026 second-half new-graduate recruitment through Tuesday. Participating affiliates include Kolmar Korea, Kolmar Holdings, HK inno.N, Kolmar BNH and Yeonwoo.

Kolmar Korea is hiring across a wide range of roles — sales, sales planning, marketing, cosmetics formulation research, convergence technology research, clinical research, safety research, cosmetics ingredient development, color research and global sales. The openings span the full value chain, from the R&D at the heart of K-beauty to the sales and marketing needed to supply products to overseas markets.

The Cosmax group is also accepting second-half applications through Wednesday. Participating affiliates include holding company Cosmax BTI, as well as Cosmax, Cosmax NBT, Cosmax Bio and Cosmax Pharma.

Open positions are centered on research and innovation, with additional roles in marketing and sales, overseas sales, strategic marketing, design, and quality assurance and quality control. Applicants must hold a four-year university or graduate degree, or be on track to graduate in February next year. Candidates will go through a document screening, an online AI competency assessment, a practical interview, a final interview and a pre-employment health check, with successful hires expected to join in December.

Cosmax will also continue into the second half a policy it introduced earlier this year: giving preference to candidates who demonstrate strong AI skills. The application form includes a dedicated section asking applicants to describe how they have used AI tools to enhance their capabilities or improve work efficiency. The company said it intends to evaluate AI proficiency alongside existing competencies in areas such as cosmetics R&D and marketing.

Headcount rising every year — worth watching for job seekers

Both companies have been growing their workforces every year as K-beauty gains popularity worldwide. An analysis of the two firms' semi-annual reports over the past five years shows their combined headcount stood at 3,201 as of the end of June — up 1,048, or 48.7%, from 2,153 four years earlier.

Kolmar Korea's staff grew from 964 in 2022 to 1,515 in the first half of this year, an increase of 551, or 57.2%. Cosmax added 497 employees over the same period, rising from 1,189 to 1,686, a gain of 41.8%. Both companies have expanded their headcount every year since 2022, and their combined total exceeded 3,000 for the first time this year.

The number of permanent employees at the two companies rose by 970 compared with 2022, accounting for 92.6% of the total increase of 1,048. The recent hiring expansion has been driven primarily by long-term staff rather than short-term workers.

Behind this hiring growth is the expanding role of ODM companies alongside the broader K-beauty market. Independent brands — which outsource product development and manufacturing to ODM firms rather than operating their own production facilities — have been growing both at home and abroad, diversifying not only the volume of orders but also the range of products that need to be developed. For ODM companies, this creates demand for staff across multiple functions beyond production, including R&D, quality control and overseas sales.

Both companies have also been scaling up production capacity and R&D investment. Kolmar Korea's domestic cosmetics production capacity expanded 69.6%, from about 373.02 million units in 2022 to about 632.47 million units last year. Cosmax increased its capacity by 65.3% over the same period, from about 617.34 million units to about 1.02 billion units.

Job seekers pondering their career options during the long holiday may find it worthwhile to look beyond the obvious research and production roles and consider the growing range of K-beauty positions in overseas sales, marketing, design and AI. "As K-beauty grows, major ODM companies are expanding production capacity, adding new factory lines and building new facilities," an industry official said. "If the growth continues, employment is likely to increase further as well."


boo@heraldcorp.com