SMEs Ministry Supports K-Beauty’s Entry into Brazil…Promotes Listing on Mercado Libre

Collaboration and Exchange Between Korean and Brazilian Beauty Companies
Discussions on Joint Research, Development, and Production

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups held consecutive meetings with local cosmetics associations and e-commerce platforms in Brazil to discuss ways to expand the entry of K-beauty small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into the Brazilian market.

Foreigners are selecting cosmetics at an Olive Young store in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

On July 28, the Ministry announced that it had visited the Brazilian Association for the Cosmetics, Toiletry and Fragrance Industry (ABIHPEC) in São Paulo and Mercado Libre, the largest e-commerce platform in South America.

Although Brazil is one of the world's major beauty markets, the physical distance and barriers to distribution network entry have resulted in relatively limited participation by Korean SME cosmetics companies. However, as local interest in K-beauty has surged due to the global popularity of K-pop and K-drama, Brazil is increasingly being recognized as a promising new export market.

During this visit, the Ministry discussed expanding K-beauty’s presence in Brazil by utilizing online distribution channels. Other topics included promoting exchanges between beauty companies from both countries, joint research and production, and ways to respond to export regulations.

The Brazilian cosmetics association accounts for over 90% of the country's total cosmetics sales. The Ministry and the association agreed to strengthen networking and information exchanges between companies in both countries, and to promote joint research and production by combining Brazil’s natural resources with the technological expertise of Korean firms. They also considered cooperation across the entire value chain, including upstream industries such as cosmetics ingredients and manufacturing.

With Mercado Libre, the Ministry, relevant organizations, and the platform agreed to cooperate in providing financial and technical support to help Korean SME cosmetics brands join the platform and to boost local promotion and marketing efforts.

Noh Yongseok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "In order for cosmetics, the top export item among Korean SMEs, to make further progress in the global market, we must strengthen the industry ecosystem and diversify export destinations. We will draw up concrete measures so that collaboration with Brazil leads to tangible outcomes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.