Cumulative sales of Skinfood's Karrot Pad top 13 million units

Pad lineup expands to over 10 varieties as brand eyes US, Japan

[Skinfood website]
[Skinfood website]

Skinfood's Karrot Pad, the product credited with reviving the first-generation K-beauty road shop brand, has surpassed 13 million units in cumulative sales.

The Carrot Carotene Calming Water Pad — widely known as the Karrot Pad — crossed the 13 million mark in late August, according to industry sources. That represents about 1 million additional units sold in just five months since the product passed 12 million units in March.

Launched in June 2020, the Karrot Pad is an essence-soaked toner pad that lets users prep their skin without pouring toner onto their hands or a cotton pad. It drew attention for its convenience during morning routines — multiple pads can be layered on the face as a sheet mask substitute — and is widely credited with sparking the broader toner pad trend in South Korea.

Riding the Karrot Pad's popularity, Skinfood has steadily expanded its pad lineup. What began with carrot has grown to include potato, water parsley, acorn, licorice, rice, lemongrass, banana, basil, peach, blue chamomile, black sugar, shine muscat, asparagus and pink grapefruit varieties. The brand also relaunched its potato pad on Monday.

The Karrot Pad has also ushered in a second golden era for Skinfood. Founded in 2004, the brand entered court receivership in 2019 but staged a comeback on the strength of the product. Last year, Skinfood was acquired by Goodal Global — the company behind Joseon Beauty and Skin1004 — and grew annual sales to 80.9 billion won ($60.3 million), up 3.6 percent from the previous year.

With an annual sales target of 100 billion won in its sights, Skinfood is pushing overseas expansion with the Karrot Pad leading the charge. Goodal Global has acquired North American distributor Hansung USA and established a local subsidiary in Japan, positioning the brand for more aggressive international growth ahead.

Skinfood products are currently sold in about 6,000 stores worldwide, including more than 2,500 locations in Japan. In the United States, where demand for K-beauty remains strong, the brand operates its own official online store and has also secured placement on CJ Olive Young's US platform and Amazon, spanning both online and offline channels.


spa@heraldcorp.com