Growth of K-Beauty market in India

By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe

New Delhi, Dec 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) Koreans are known for their flawless skin and ageless charm, all thanks to their genes and their innovative range of beauty products. Slowly and steadily their skincare and beauty products are taking precedence over the global beauty market, including India. Commonly known as K-Beauty, their beauty products are a melange of exotic natural ingredients and performance-enhancing technology.

Since natural ingredients are also a critical part of the Indian beauty regime, Indians are quite keen to experiment with Korean beauty products. And seeing the popularity in India, many K-Beauty brands are mushrooming in the Indian retail industry. Even some Indian brands have launched Korean-made or Korean-inspired skincare products to woo their home-based consumers.

It's more like preventive care for your skin. Applying the products enable one to enhance the health of their skin and prevent skin issues, thereby maintaining a youthful complexion. The products are not beneficial if you already have a skin issue and through it, you can combat them. As hydration is the essence of good skin, the K-beauty skincare regime involves the usage of an extensive range of moisturising products, including sheet masks, sleeping masks and serums.

Aayush Rajput, Head of Limese Offline sales, shares reasons behind the growth of K-Beauty market in India:

The popularity of K-pop and K-Drama: Korean brands have been present in the market for quite some time but they became popular after the acceptance and huge popularity of K-pop and K-dramas in India. This has led to an increased demand for Korean skincare products in the country. Their sheet masks and serums use a lot of natural ingredients like green tea and chia seeds, which are good for the skin. Though the K-beauty products are relatively new in India, they have been in demand worldwide for quite some time. According to a research company report, the Korean beauty industry saw $13.1 billion worth of sales worldwide in 2018.

Contribution of Social-media: The role played by social media in promoting K-beauty globally and in India has been huge. Through the demonstration of influencers about the elaborate K-beauty 10-step regimen, people in India have understood how to achieve flawless skin. Their demonstrations also focus on the efficacy and quality of the products and the benefits of various ingredients besides highlighting the adorable and attractive K-Beauty packaging. All these have led to a lot of awareness about K-Beauty products among the consumers. As consumers have become quite experimental, they are not shying away from trying out new products, adopting different routines and indulging in self-pampering through skincare.

Presence of natural ingredients: It has been observed that Indian consumers resonate more with a brand that uses more natural ingredients. As the Indian beauty market is more dominated by the traditional Ayurvedic ingredients such as neem, tulsi, lemon, honey, among others, the new-age and experimental consumers understand the merits of natural ingredients. They are also ready to try out those products which have high efficacy and offer lasting results. And their expectations are getting fulfilled with the Korean skincare products.

Purchasing power in the hands of women: There is a shift in purchasing power. The increase in women's employment has increased the purchasing power of their key customers, which are primarily women. Moreover, there is a preference for foreign brands when it comes to beauty products and that is also providing leverage to the Korean companies to enter the promising Indian market.

(N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in)

Source: IANS