MSS Selects 188 Innovative Companies as 'K-Export Strategy Items'

Four Major Consumer Goods Sectors:
Beauty, Fashion, Lifestyle, and Food

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 8th that it has selected innovative companies to receive support from the “2026 K-Export Strategic Item Development Project,” which aims to target the global market in four major consumer goods sectors. A total of 188 companies were chosen in the beauty, fashion, lifestyle, and food categories.

The K-Export Strategic Item Development Project seeks to carefully select innovative products in the K-brand consumer goods sector—including beauty—where demand is rapidly increasing worldwide thanks to the K-culture wave, in order to help them grow into world-class products.

In 2024, the ministry launched the program by supporting products from 30 companies in the beauty and food sectors. Last year, it expanded eligibility to the fashion and lifestyle industries, selecting an additional 80 companies and helping them make inroads into global markets.

'Pakket', a company that is growing in the clean beauty segment with its “Soy Essence” product made primarily from fermented soybean extract, and 'Cocod'or', which holds the top market share in the domestic diffuser sector, are among those receiving government support.

Pakket plans to expand its export destinations to Europe and Central and South America, building on its successful track record in the United States, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Cocod'or exports home fragrance products worth KRW 10 billion annually to over 60 countries. The company intends to further expand its global footprint, leveraging its expertise in fragrance blending and its automated smart factory manufacturing infrastructure.

The selected companies will benefit from customized programs in each sector, utilizing the infrastructure and networks possessed by domestic global distribution companies and other partners. The partners include Olive Young (beauty), Shinsegae Department Store (beauty/fashion), Musinsa (fashion), Gmarket (lifestyle), and Lotte Mart (food). In addition, they will have priority access to the K-Brand Global Expansion Project and receive preferential treatment for government export support programs such as export vouchers, acquiring overseas certifications, and participation in international exhibitions and business meetings.

Shim Jaeyoon, Director General of the Global Growth Policy Bureau at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, “We will further strengthen our policy support to ensure that the products of the selected companies become representative and popular items from Korea throughout the globe.”

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