K-Content Boom Sends Cosmetics and Food Exports "Surging"... "Market-Specific Marketing Needed"

Analysis of the Link Between K-Content Success and Consumer Goods Exports
K-Pop Boom Lifts Cosmetics Exports to Mexico 1.7%
Cosmetics in Western Markets; Food and Household Goods in Asia

An analysis has found that the popularity of K-content is driving exports of Korean consumer goods, including cosmetics, household goods, and agricultural, fishery, and food products. The effects of the success of K-pop and K-dramas vary by country and product, highlighting the need for marketing strategies that take the characteristics of each market into account.

According to a report titled "Analysis of the Dynamic Effects of K-Content on K-Consumer Goods Exports and Its Implications," released on November 12 by the Institute for International Trade of the Korea International Trade Association, exports of major consumer goods, including cosmetics, household goods, and agricultural, fishery, and food products, tend to increase in the early stages of K-pop and K-drama success.

K-consumer goods exports totaled $45.6 billion in 2025, accounting for 6.4% of all exports. The analysis found that in Western markets, the effect of K-pop's success on boosting cosmetics exports was particularly pronounced. In Mexico, a 10% increase in K-pop popularity was associated with cosmetics exports rising 1.7% in the same month, 1.6% three months later, and 1.3% six months later, compared with the levels expected if popularity had not increased further. In other words, K-pop's influence on cosmetics exports lasted for up to six months.

In Germany, cosmetics exports rose 1.6% to 1.7% in the same month that K-pop gained popularity. K-drama success, meanwhile, was associated with a 1.6% increase in cosmetics exports after a two-month lag.

K-food products, including snacks for foreign tourists, are on display at a large supermarket in Jung-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News Agency.

In Asian markets, the success of K-dramas was found to lead to increased exports of everyday consumer goods. In Vietnam, a 10% increase in K-drama popularity was associated with cosmetics exports rising 0.7% and household goods exports rising 0.5% in the same month. Exports of agricultural, fishery, and food products also increased 0.5% two months later. In Japan, exports of agricultural, fishery, and food products rose 0.4% three months after K-dramas gained popularity. The findings suggest that repeated exposure to products in everyday scenes in dramas, along with interest in Korean consumer culture, translates into actual purchases.

The report recommended product-specific marketing strategies that take into account when export responses to successful content occur. For products such as agricultural, fishery, and food products, where export growth takes time to materialize, the strategy would be to run advertising from the early stages of a hit and step up promotions when export responses begin to appear.

The report also proposed strategies to tailor and link content and consumer goods to individual countries and regions. It said marketing should be adapted to local markets, focusing on K-pop and cosmetics in Western markets and on K-dramas and agricultural, fishery, and food products in Asian markets.

Lee Gwanjae, a senior researcher at KITA, emphasized, "To turn the popularity of K-content into actual export growth, marketing strategies need to take into account the characteristics of each country's market and when the ripple effects of the content are felt. Local promotions and online publicity should be concentrated when interest in the content is growing, followed by continued marketing to turn initial interest into sustained purchases."

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