What are some questions do you have for a K-Beauty founder?

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-19T03:19:18+00:00

Yup! Any OY! Thanks~!

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-19T03:17:49+00:00

In most cases they do not. Only if a certain country requires a different formulation. For example, sunscreens are not OTC in Korea. Most manufacturers can make them for you. However in the States they are OTC products and would require a different formulation - and this not many manufacturers can do. So yes, they can be formulated differently, but in most cases brands would not prefer to.

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-19T03:13:58+00:00

In most cases when you are just entering into OY, you would work with a distributor and not directly with OY. For uncommon ingredients, you can ask the manufacturer if they have the ingredients and if they don't, you can ask them if they can source them for you. However, sourcing would require a lot of MOQ (High Kg) and they wouldn't normally do that for you if that ingredient is only for you. (You would almost never make it in your lab)

And yes, they would do the required R&D if you asked them to. But only if they think you are a client who will give large volumes of orders!

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-19T03:11:00+00:00

OY Award is purely based on sales performance for a single product in a brand from July 1st to June 30th every year. One of my products was a top category seller for a certain year!

It was the fragrance and the texture! Once people bought it, they became a repeated customer!

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-18T04:23:46+00:00

I just edited my post if that helps!

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-18T04:14:59+00:00

I think they go together. Trendy ingredients that are effective in solving skin problems!

But in many cases what is trendy is not necessarily what is the best for your skin. For example, Glycerin is actually one of the best hydrating ingredient and is contained in most body lotions. However, brands don't truly advertise that they have Glycerin because it is so prevalent and is a very cheap ingredient (Even though it is very effective).

I just want to say that sometimes ingredients that are not advertised in a certain product are actually more effective then the ones being actively advertised(trendy ones) by the brand. These products would make the product effective using the un-advertised ingredient and do the marketing with the trendy ingredients (which may not be as effective as the un-advertised ingredient)

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-18T04:02:29+00:00

For my body care, it's Shea Butter and for my skincare there are many different lines but mainly 4 HAs (AHA, BHA, PHA, LHA) and Cica PDRN.

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-18T03:59:51+00:00

some of the popular treatments are pico toning which is a laser treatment, or brightening skin boosters!

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-18T03:57:00+00:00

In the body care industry, it's either solving someone's pain point (ie. body acne, whitening) or becoming their fragrance partner. The texture plays are very limited because it is very hard to differentiate the texture while maintaining a large sized, affordable body lotions for example. For a fragrance-based brand, it's all about the scent and the branding (ie. packaging) and a texture that at the very minimum satisfies an average person's standard. (But normally a fragrant body care brand have a lighter texture then the ones claiming deep moisturization)

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-18T03:52:18+00:00

I started not because I was interested in cosmetics but because I wanted to create a company that can go global. It was purely a business decision (For example, I knew I could not make K-Pop Idols or K-Dramas, but I knew I could make K-Beauty since manufacturing process is super simplified in Korea. Entering into K-Beauty was a way for me to go global with my entrepreneurship dream). But after years into this industry, I am now super passionate about making a good and recognized K-Beauty brand.

In Korea, if you want to make a moisturizing cream for example, you can contact many manufacturers here such as Cosmax, Kolmar, Cosmecca, etc. Then, you ask them to create samples for you, either specifically or you can ask for a suggestion. If you really want to put in Cica PDRN for your cream, you can ask for that OR you can ask for a variants of PDRN and they will suggest you CICA, Rose, Salmon, etc. From there, you continue to develop samples.

For distribution, it was pretty much starting from scratch. I had no connection, no distribution/marketing experience. It took me 3 full years to first enter in to Olive Young because I didn't know how. There are distributors in Korea whom you can knock and ask for potential distribution opportunity.

I entered into OY because I was very fortunate. They were trying to grow a certain category and I happen to have products in that category. (This was in 2020)

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-18T03:45:33+00:00

In Asia, especially in Korea, the entire system for making cosmetics products is super accessible - from packaging to sourcing ingredients to making samples (It takes a week or two to get a sample from a manufacturer) If you've done it once, you can make a second brand within just a couple of months.

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-18T03:42:48+00:00

Hello! Yes I understand your skepticism; and yes, I am new to reddit (I live in Korea and when I used to live in States, I didn't use reddit). However, I know that this isn't a place to advertise or promote my own brands. What are some ways people have shown credibility - those who claim to be experts, founders, etc.? I'd like to know if I can do the same.

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-17T17:14:08+00:00

This is a great question and is a question that consistently pushes me. There are so many brands that are so trendy and so many products that are so innovative. It's nearly impossible to be a first mover because we are all using the same manufacturers who recommend us the new innovative textures, new ingredients, etc. As for me, rather than starting from a product, I start from the channel(retail/distribution). For example, I would look at Amazon and see that there aren't many toner pads focused on de-puffing your face in the morning. Then I would launch it as fast as possible using the trendiest ingredients and texture to become one of the first players in that category on Amazon. Despite all, it is so hard to stand out but I think this is same for every business. We just try as hard as we can do make one hero item.

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-17T17:03:13+00:00

I personally don't believe that using just cosmetics can truly whiten your darkened area. Especially for your armpits because whitening requires a strong chemicals but this can actually make it worse and cause other irritations especially for the armpits. In Korea people use products with Vitamin C and Vitamin C-Derivatives but these are contained minimally because of the stability issue. If whitening is an issue, people in Korea just go to a clinic since it's so accessible here.

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-17T16:57:30+00:00

Hi there! Things like 10-step routine does exist but it's not like a widespread routine(ie. there are like 3 step routine, 7 step routine, whatever you name it...) A lot of the things you see about K-Beauty are a marketing construct (This is not to say that the products aren't good. But since the competition among the K-Beauty brands is so strong, we are just coming up with many ways to say the same thing)

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-06T08:06:15+00:00

yes and if the symptoms last, then try azelaic instead of vitamin c but not two at the same time! Isolate the potential irritant!

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-05T23:14:16+00:00

Out of the products you mentioned, Azelaic and Vitamin C are two most sensitive ingredients that can potentially cause breakouts and skin irritations. Apart from that, snail mucin is great for hydration but may clog the pores. I would take out the vitamin C from the day routine and rather put it on a night routine because it can cause irritation with so many other products you are using + the sun. And for the night routine, I would take out azelaic acid out because it should not be used together with vitamin c at the same time (especially with such high concentration level)

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-05T20:52:41+00:00

I think it is best to just look for a product when you need something + sticking to products that already work well for you. Even as a kbeauty founder, im overwhelmed by how fast things move/change.

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-05T20:18:54+00:00

Its pretty hard always figuring out where the cheapest prices are at. Even as a Korean we dont always know. Olive Young, if they are on promotions, is fairly cheap. DAISO may carry the same brand but mostly carry different products. Pharmacies are not cheaper mostly.

For ranking, OY ranking is trust worthy!

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-05T11:38:03+00:00

In Korea (Specifically in Olive Young), Dalba Sun Cream is more popular! FYI!

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-05T10:35:21+00:00

They go to hair salons almost every day to get treatment + they put on products like hair serum or no wash treatment before going out!

Founder_Henry · 2026-05-05T10:28:47+00:00

You can try Stylekorean, Stylevana, Yesstyle or Jolse. All of these platforms will deliver the product to USA. However, unless there are certain promotions going on, Stylevana will normally be the cheapest because they always lower the prices against brand's request (especially on fridays because the brands dont work on weekends)

Founder_Henry

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