Olive Young has landed in the States.
What’s happening: The Korean health & beauty retailer opened its first US store in Pasadena, California, marking a major expansion push beyond its home market.
Shopping spree. Operating ~1.4K outposts across South Korea, its US flagship will carry 5K products across 400 brands, including K-beauty favorites Anua and Biodance and American staples Supergoop! and The Ordinary.
With US K-beauty sales topping $2B, up 37% YoY, Americans now account for roughly half of Olive Young’s D2C customer base. Scaling IRL, the retailer plans five additional California stores before expanding into New York.
New frontier. Driven by first-to-market ingredients, affordable formulas, and TikTok Shop virality, K-beauty is booming globally. An economic force, South Korea recently surpassed the US in cosmetics exports, reaching $11.4B last year and trailing only France.
Forecasting continued growth, US retailers are stocking up — Ulta Beauty added 13 K-haircare brands, and Walmart tapped TikTok-favorite Medicube. Meanwhile, Sephora partnered with Olive Young to curate “K-beauty zones” in stores.
What’s next: Capitalizing on the K-beauty movement, Olive Young is touting its 26-year heritage to become the instant authority in the US, with plans beyond LA and NYC.
