Korea Times: several Korean brands grew overseas before becoming familiar names at home
The Korea Times reported on 31 October that Eqqualberry, TIRTIR, Torriden and Mixsoon built large overseas sales, one with about 95% of revenue abroad.
Published
2 November 2026 — The Korea Times published a weekend feature on 31 October about Korean consumer brands that grew abroad before most people in Korea had heard of them. It noted that Korean beauty exports reached a record USD 11.4 billion in 2025, up 24.5 per cent from 2021.
The examples in the report
- Eqqualberry, owned by Boosters, entered the United States through Amazon in 2024 and now sells at Ulta, Target, Olive Young's U.S. platform and Boots in the UK, with 2025 sales of KRW 153 billion.
- TIRTIR's Mask Fit Red Cushion grew from three shades to 45 and, in June 2024, became the first Korean beauty brand to top Amazon's overall U.S. beauty category.
- Torriden generated 62 per cent of its first-half 2026 sales overseas, about KRW 113 billion.
- Mixsoon sells in more than 100 countries, with overseas markets making up 95 per cent of its sales.
SKIN1004's operator, Craver, reported more than KRW 678 billion in 2025 sales, more than double the previous year, according to the feature. The article also covered food brands such as ARIH, a pasta and beverage line that debuted at Walmart in the United States in April and later reached Japan and Canada, to show that the pattern is not limited to cosmetics.
THE CAST shopping perspective
A name you have never met in Seoul tells you nothing about quality, in either direction. Some brands sell mostly abroad, some sell mostly through their own channels, and some are simply new. The practical response is to judge the product page: the exact item, its option and quantity, how the brand describes itself and a clear final price. That is the kind of page THE CAST aims to write for each Korean brand it lists. Where a brand is new to you, start with one product and treat the first order as a trial, not a commitment to the whole range.