TikTok-fueled K-beauty boom triggers a retail race in the U.S.

On a recent Saturday Ulta Beauty In a store in midtown Manhattan, Denise McCarthy, a mother in her 40s, stood in front of a wall filled with tiny pastel bottles, tubes and compacts. His phone rang; Another TikTok from her 15-year-old daughter.

“My kids are texting me with TikToks,” she told CNBC, as she put Korean lipsticks and sunscreen in her basket for Christmas stockings. “I don’t even know what half of it is for. I just buy what they send me.”

Two hallways away, a group of college students compared samples of Korean cushion foundation. A father asked a store employee if the viral Korean sunscreen belonged to “the girl who made the ‘get ready with me’ videos.” Near the register, the display case displaying Korean sheet mask mini-packs was nearly empty.

Scenes like this are playing out all over the country.

Once a niche reserved for beauty obsessives, Korean cosmetics known as K-beauty are moving fully into the American mainstream, thanks to the virality of TikTok, younger and more diverse shoppers, and the aggressive expansion of retailers like UltaSephora, Walmart And costco.

K-beauty sales in the United States are expected to reach $2 billion in 2025, up more than 37% from last year, according to the market research firm NielsenIQwell ahead of the single-digit growth of the broader beauty market.

Even as trade tensions complicate supply chains, brands and retailers told CNBC that momentum is strong.

“We have no plans to slow down and see more opportunities to enter the market,” said Janet Kim, vice president of the K-beauty brand. Neogene.

South Korea shipped a record $5.5 billion worth of cosmetics in the first half of 2025, up nearly 15% year-on-year, surpassing France to become the leading exporter of cosmetics to the United States., According to South Korean data state.

“The growth is remarkable,” he said. Therese-Ann D’AmbrosiaNielsenIQ vice president of beauty and personal care. “When you compare that to the broader beauty market, which is growing in the single digits, we see K-beauty clearly operating in a different gear now.”

NielsenIQ reports that facial skin care remains the largest driver of K-beauty revenue in the United States. The firm said hair care is growing the fastest, and hybrid products such as color serums and skincare-infused cushion compacts (sponge cushions soaked in SPF foundation) continue to rise.

Ulta, which has over 1,400 stores in the USA, has opened.K-beauty world” to highlight Korean brands and tech devices in July. This is the only major retailer that carries products from the United States. MedicineIt’s a beauty technology company promoted by celebrities like Hailey Bieber.

Ulta’s first quarter 2025 report pointed to a 38% increase in Korean skincare sales, with executives saying: August He said new K-beauty partnerships contributed to the company beating Wall Street earnings expectations in the second quarter.

Sephora is also leaning in. Its flagship location in Times Square now features a wall of Korean skincare and cosmetics, and the retailer has secured exclusive US launches for Korean heritage brand Hanyul and sensitive skin brand Aestura.

Big box players are also piling in. Costco and Walmart have also expanded their product lines, adding essences, serums and sheet masks as demand increases.

“This is an arms race to see who can take advantage of the market for Korean products,” Delphine Horvath, professor of cosmetics and fragrance marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology, told CNBC. “These products are now seen as the biggest driver of growth for cosmetics brands and it looks like they will continue to grow.”

Competition is heating up as well Olive YoungThe brand, often referred to as the “Sephora of Seoul,” is preparing to open its first U.S. store in Los Angeles next year. Asian beauty retailer sukoshi It’s also expanding and plans to open 20 new stores next year in cities like Seattle, Miami and Austin, Texas.

“It’s critical to meet customers in a place where they can touch, feel and try what they see on TikTok,” Sukoshi CEO Linda Dang told CNBC. “Companies in the industry want to grow in part because people don’t want to wait for shipping or go all the way to Korea to get products.”

The explosion comes amid the ongoing trade war.

U.S. consumers flocked to this spring to stock Dang said about K-beauty favorites to be prepared for price increases in tariffs. But Dang said prices have remained relatively stable as Korean brands have temporarily shouldered the duties, but many are now exploring alternative production or shipping methods.

South Korea signed a deal with President Donald Trump last month, agreeing to a 15% tariff rate instead of the initial 25% tariff the president announced in April.

“The easy trading system is not what it was before the tariffs,” Dang told CNBC. “However, many companies have worked with advertisers and internally to do the best they can to pass and offset these costs to customers in the US.”

There has also been a rise in Korean entertainment from pop groups in the US in the last decade Like BTS and Blackpink this year netflix hit “KPop Demon Hunters,” which helped South Korea’s cultural export reach unprecedented popularity.

K-beauty’s “first wave“Glass skin”, which hit the US in the mid-2010s, was defined by 10-step routines, snail mucin, cushion compacts and beauty spot creams. Most of the products catered to lighter skin tones and distribution was limited to small boutiques. Amazon Beauty insiders said resellers and early test placements are happening at Ulta and Sephora.

“The first wave had some penetration, but it wasn’t like today,” Horvath said. “They were mostly people in the know.”

The second wave was bigger, faster and much more inclusive. It includes color cosmetics, hair and scalp care, body care, fragrances and high-tech devices.

According to a Personal Care Insights market analyst report, TikTok is the central discovery engine especially for Gen Z and Millennial shoppers, who make up nearly three-quarters of K-beauty consumers. Posts tagged “K-beauty” or “Korean skin care” receive 250 million views per week, according to the consumer data firm Empty. Viral products with fancy packaging are disappearing from shelves faster than retailers can restock them, Dang said, especially those that combine gentle formulas and low prices.

“TikTok changed the game,” Horvath said. “It’s easier to educate consumers about innovation and spread the word. Brands are investing heavily in paying influencers, and TikTok users are talking about textures, formulas and effectiveness.”

Virality has also pushed brands to be more inclusive of younger, more diverse shoppers. After TikTok creators criticized Korean brand Tirtir offers only three foundation shades extended within months it had expanded to 40 shades, and many other companies followed suit.

This trend is also seen in the Americas: According to Statista, 61% of consumers in Mexico and almost half of consumers in Brazil say K-beauty is popular in their countries, compared to 45% in the United States.

“Traditional retail and e-commerce remain important, but TikTok Shop is the standout disruptor,” Nielsen’s D’Ambrosia said. “It’s not just about direct sales on one platform; it’s about how the entire discovery and purchase journey changes.”

However, the second wave brings its own risks. D’Ambrosia said an over-reliance on virality could subject brands to sudden algorithm changes or regulatory scrutiny.

“When you have so much growth concentrated on a single platform [such as TikTok]Algorithm changes can significantly impact discoverability overnight, D’Ambrosia said. “We’ve seen what happens when platforms tweak their recommendation engines. … There are some warning signs that we’re definitely watching for.”

Dang said K-beauty’s staying power stems from the intensely competitive Korean domestic market. Trends are moving at a dizzying pace and consumers are spending more per capita on beauty than in other countries, according to a South Korean research firm. KOISRA.

Neogen’s Kim said South Korea has more than 28,000 licensed cosmetics vendors in 2024 — nearly double what there were five years ago — creating a pressure-cooker environment that forces constant experimentation.

“We develop about hundreds of formulas every day,” Kim told CNBC. “We’re building the library and testing the results with clinical individual testing. … We’re developing everything that’s very unique and that really works for skin care.”

Korean consumers are quick to evaluate trends, fueling a pipeline of new brands that can go viral and, in some cases, be purchased. For example, when the sticky snail mucin gel used to protect and repair people’s skin became widespread worldwide, skin care brand Amorepacific acquired COSRXThe small Korean brand that helped popularize the material for nearly $700 million.

Analysts predict that the next wave of products will likely be even more experimental.

Brands are relying on popular ingredients like DNA extracted from salmon or trout sperm, which early research suggests may help calm or repair skin. They are also expanding into biotechnology.

“K-beauty is very data-driven. [Artificial intelligence] It helps us get quick results in ingredients, formula development and advertising,” said Kim. “In Korea, they started talking about distribution systems. “They are very good at biotechnology.”