2024 Must-Have: How Low-Cost K-Beauty Products are Dominating the Market

[The Public=Reporter Sujin Yoo] In an era of stubborn inflation, ultra-low-price Korean cosmetics are winning over shoppers across generations — including millennials and Gen Z. With foreign tourists also snapping them up, retailers are leaning into the growing “value-for-money” beauty trend.

Industry sources said on the 10th that the value-beauty market has steadily expanded, led by fixed-price lifestyle chains like Daiso and major supermarkets.

As of January, about 160 beauty brands were carried at Daiso, with roughly 1,700 products on shelves. That’s a sevenfold rise in brands and more than a 23-fold increase in SKUs compared with 120 SKUs in 2022.

Sales are climbing fast, too. Daiso’s beauty-item revenue jumped 144% year-on-year in 2024, after growing about 70% the year before.

Amorepacific has been rolling out basic and color cosmetics priced at 5,000 KRW (approximately $3.75) or less at Daiso, including Mimo by Mamonde, Etude Play 101, and Prep by BeReady. Prep by BeReady, in particular, moved over 100,000 units within three months of its June launch at Daiso and quickly became the top seller in the men’s care category.

Big-box supermarkets are following suit with their own ultra-low-price beauty offerings.

In April last year, Emart teamed up with LG Household & Health Care to launch a fixed-price cosmetics line, Glow:Up by Beyond, at 4,950 KRW (approximately $3.71). Emart also manages the Daiso-exclusive CNP by O.D.-T.D. brand.

Glow:Up by Beyond has expanded from eight items at launch to 18 items today.

In June last year, Lotte Mart introduced a Value Beauty Zone selling cosmetics at a uniform price of 4,950 KRW (approximately $3.71). The assortment began with 28 SKUs and has grown to 44, now making up roughly 60% of the zone’s product mix.

Those expansion efforts helped lift cosmetics sales at both Emart and Lotte Mart. From November through January, Emart’s ultra-low-price cosmetics sales rose about 24% compared with the prior three months. Lotte Mart’s Value Beauty Zone sales more than tripled in September–October versus the early operation period (July–August), then climbed another roughly 70% in November–December compared with the previous two months.

Analysts say the rapid growth reflects changes in consumer mood as prices rise and the economy slows. Shoppers are favoring reasonably priced alternatives to high-end cosmetics and are more deliberate about choosing products that fit their preferences and skin needs.

As more high-quality, budget-friendly products hit the market, the appeal of value-driven beauty has spread beyond younger shoppers to all age groups.

Last year, customers in their 40s accounted for the largest share of Daiso’s cosmetics sales at 27%, followed by those in their 30s at 25%. Lotte Mart’s Value Beauty Zone similarly shows strong purchase activity among women in their 30s and 40s, indicating growing trust in affordable, quality products among that cohort.

Value K-beauty shopping is also catching on with international visitors.

Daiso’s overseas card transactions surged 300% in 2022 and 130% in 2023, and have continued double-digit growth since then. Overseas card payments in January–February of this year rose about 70% year-on-year.

Some of Emart’s ultra-low-price Glow:Up by Beyond items were exported to Mongolia and Laos in the second half of last year. Lotte Mart plans to introduce additional low-price cosmetics this year in collaboration with brands favored by foreign shoppers.

Retailers expect the ultra-low-price cosmetics market to keep growing and plan to keep expanding their product lineups accordingly.