10% rise in K-pop popularity boosts Mexico cosmetics exports by 1.7%
K-dramas lift cosmetics, household goods exports to Vietnam
Consumer goods exports hit $45.6b last year, 6.4% of total
The popularity of K-pop and K-dramas is translating into higher exports of consumer goods — including cosmetics, household products and agricultural and fishery products — according to a new analysis.
The Korea International Trade Association's (KITA) Institute for International Trade said Thursday that its newly released report found K-pop and K-drama popularity boosts exports of major consumer goods in the early stages of a hit.
The report selected four countries — Germany, Mexico, Japan and Vietnam — from among nations importing more than $100 million in Korean consumer goods annually, chosen to reflect differences in cultural background and income level. It then analyzed how exports of individual product categories respond over time when consumption of K-pop or K-dramas in a given month exceeds expectations by 10 percent.
In Western markets, the cosmetics export effect driven by K-pop was particularly pronounced. In Mexico, a 10 percent rise in K-pop popularity corresponded to a 1.7 percent increase in cosmetics exports in the same month, followed by gains of 1.6 percent after three months and 1.3 percent after six months — meaning the effect persisted for at least half a year. In Germany, cosmetics exports rose 1.6 to 1.7 percent in the same month a K-pop surge occurred, while K-dramas lifted cosmetics exports by 1.6 percent with a two-month lag.
In Asian markets, K-drama popularity drove gains in everyday consumer goods. In Vietnam, a 10 percent rise in K-drama viewership corresponded to a 0.7 percent increase in cosmetics exports and a 0.5 percent rise in household goods exports in the same month, with agricultural and fishery product exports climbing 0.5 percent two months later. In Japan, agricultural and fishery exports rose 0.4 percent three months after a K-drama surge. The report attributed the trend to repeated exposure to products and Korean consumer culture in everyday drama scenes, which translated into actual purchases.
The report recommended marketing strategies timed to match when export responses peak by product category. For items such as agricultural and fishery products, where the effect appears with a delay, it advised maintaining advertising from the early stages of a content hit and then intensifying promotional efforts when exports begin to respond. It also called for differentiated strategies linking content to consumer goods — centering on K-pop and cosmetics in Western markets, and K-dramas and agricultural and fishery products in Asian markets.
Exports of Korean consumer goods — spanning agricultural and fishery products, household goods, cosmetics, fashion apparel and pharmaceuticals — reached $45.6 billion in 2025, accounting for 6.4 percent of total exports, according to KITA.
"To convert K-content's popularity into actual export expansion, companies need marketing strategies that account for each country's market characteristics and the timing of when content's ripple effects emerge," said Lee Gwan-jae, a senior researcher at KITA. "Promotional activities and online marketing in local markets should be concentrated when content popularity is at its peak, with follow-up marketing sustained so that initial interest converts into ongoing purchases."
eyre@heraldcorp.com
