How to create a Korean-inspired beauty brand

Published: 23-Aug-2017

K-beauty has reached cult status and today is as common a sight on the shelves of luxury retailers as on the high street. But what does it take to create your own Korean-inspired beauty company?

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It's no secret that South Korean beauty is the industry's latest love affair – but it's a misnomer to think that innovation is limited to brands from Asia. K-beauty has inspired NPD from companies around the world, successfully catching the attention of consumers with authentic yet playful spins on the real deal.

One such brand is Oh! K, which offers a 'kawaii' take – a Japanese trend for cuteness – on the traditional ten step Korean skin care regime. Tim Wright is the CEO of NPW Gifts, the company responsible for creating the brand. A specialist in the impulse gifting market, NPW is behind brands such as Hello Handsome Muscle Miniatures and even creates unicorn shower caps.

Here he talks to Cosmetics Business about how to spot key trends earlier, why K-beauty has been such a hit and what it takes to set up a Korean-inspired beauty brand.

What do you consider when developing impulse beauty products?

Increasingly as we develop brands, Oh K! being one of them, we look at editing beauty trends.

For example, Korean beauty has

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