How Cosmetics and Personal Care Brands Can Benefit From K-Beauty Trends and Regulations

Korean beauty products command global trust thanks to their reputation for innovation, safety and efficacy. For white label brands, compliance with these regulations offers multiple advantages beyond basic legal necessity.

Consumers worldwide seek products with the coveted “Made in Korea” designation, knowing they meet exceptional production standards.

According to market research, Asia Pacific currently dominates the K-Beauty market with over 35% market share as of 2024, but North America and Europe are rapidly catching up as consumers embrace multi-step skincare routines and innovative formulations.

The market’s growth is driven by a number of overlapping factors, including:

• Rising demand for multifunctional skincare solutions
• Growing consumer interest in eco-friendly and sustainable beauty products
• Introduction of innovative technologies in dermo-cosmetic products
• Influence of K-pop culture and social media in driving global beauty trends

Properly navigating these regulations also streamlines expansion into other markets like the EU and US, as many Korean standards align with or exceed international requirements.

With the market expected to double within the next decade, regulatory compliance is essential for white label brands looking to capitalize on this opportunity.

South Korea’s cosmetic regulations center around the Cosmetics Act and its accompanying Enforcement Rules, all overseen by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).

This comprehensive framework classifies products into three categories, each with distinct requirements:

• General Cosmetics: Basic skincare, makeup and hair care products
• Functional Cosmetics: Products making specific claims (anti-aging, brightening, UV protection)
• Quasi-Drugs: Products with medicinal properties (acne treatments, deodorants)

For white label brands, understanding the role of the Market Authorization Holder (MAH) proves crucial. The MAH bears legal responsibility for product compliance, quality and safety in Korea.

Imported cosmetics require a local representative to serve as the MAH, while domestically produced items typically list the manufacturer.The notification process—known as Cosmetic Product Notification (CPN)—forms another regulatory cornerstone.

Before market entry, all cosmetic products require notification to MFDS with appropriate documentation, though the requirements vary by product category.

South Korea’s strict compliance standards focus on key areas like ingredients, labeling and packaging, claims, manufacturing practices and product testing. Here’s how to navigate each of these.

Ingredient Compliance

South Korea maintains stringent ingredient standards that white label brands must follow meticulously. The MFDS publishes comprehensive lists of:

• Approved ingredients
• Restricted ingredients (permitted with concentration limits)
• Prohibited substances

To avoid costly disruptions, ingredient verification should happen early in product development.

White label brands must review formulations against current MFDS standards, as these lists undergo regular updates. Common banned substances include hydroquinone at certain concentrations, certain parabens and various heavy metals.

Current market trends show a significant shift toward natural and organic ingredients. According to industry reports, some major brands are incorporating botanicals like propolis, macadamia, honey, green tea and fermented ingredients in their formulations.

Documentation requirements include detailed toxicological assessments for new ingredients and comprehensive safety data for all formulations.

Working with manufacturers who already understand these requirements simplifies compliance significantly.

Labeling and Packaging Requirements

Labeling represents one of the most visible—and frequently challenging—compliance areas for white label brands entering Korea.

All products sold in South Korea must include Korean-language labeling with specific information, like:

• Product name and category
• Manufacturer and MAH information
• Full ingredient list in descending order (using INCI names)
• Manufacturing date or expiration date
• Content volume/weight
• Batch code
• Usage instructions
• Warning statements (including allergen information)

White label brands should understand the distinction between export packaging and domestic Korean packaging requirements. While export products may have different standards, anything sold within Korea must meet all local requirements.

Smart white label brands implement bilingual labeling strategies early in their development process, creating templates that satisfy multiple market requirements simultaneously.

Functional Cosmetics: Claims and Testing

For maximum consumer transparency, products making functional claims face additional scrutiny in South Korea.

Anti-aging serums, brightening treatments and UV protection products all require pre-market approval rather than simple notification.

For white label brands entering the functional cosmetics space:

• Clinical testing becomes mandatory to substantiate claims
• Testing must follow MFDS-approved protocols
• Supporting documentation must be submitted before approval
• Claims language must precisely match approved wording

The approval process for functional cosmetics typically takes longer than standard notification, often adding 2-3 months to market entry timelines. White label brands should factor this into their launch schedules.

Claims violations carry significant penalties, including product recalls and marketing restrictions. Accuracy in marketing materials proves just as important as formula compliance.

Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)

Korean GMP standards rank among the world’s most stringent cosmetic manufacturing guidelines.

These comprehensive standards cover:

• Facility requirements
• Quality management systems
• Documentation procedures
• Personnel qualifications
• Process validation
• Material handling

As a best practice for long-term resilience, white label brands should exclusively partner with Korean manufacturers holding current GMP certification.

This certification not only ensures compliance with Korean regulations but also supports market entry requirements for other regions.

The MFDS conducts regular inspections of manufacturing facilities to verify ongoing GMP compliance. White label brands should request and maintain copies of current GMP certifications from their manufacturing partners, updating these records annually.

Animal Testing Regulations

South Korea banned animal testing for cosmetic products and ingredients in 2018, aligning with global movements toward cruelty-free beauty standards.

For white label brands, this requires:

• Verifying that no animal testing occurred for final formulations
• Ensuring ingredients weren’t tested on animals after the ban date
• Implementing alternative safety assessment methods
• Documenting testing protocols for regulatory submission

Accepted alternative testing methods include in vitro studies, computer modeling and human volunteer studies under controlled conditions.

Market analysis shows that cruelty-free and vegan formulations are seeing tremendous growth worldwide. This trend aligns with the broader market shift toward sustainability, which appears across all major regions:

• North American consumers show strong preference for clean beauty concepts
• European markets emphasize environmentally friendly packaging and plant-based formulations
• Asian consumers increasingly seek ethical sourcing alongside efficacy

Many white label brands leverage this ban as a marketing advantage, highlighting their cruelty-free status across markets.

However, claims of “cruelty-free” status require verification throughout the entire supply chain.

White label brands can streamline their compliance journey by becoming familiar with South Korea’s industry, best practices and those who are firmly entrenched in product design and development.

Partner with Local Experts

Korean regulatory consultants bring invaluable insights into current requirements and upcoming changes. These partnerships often pay for themselves by preventing costly compliance errors and delays.

This is particularly important as brands expand globally—market research shows that by 2035, K-Beauty as a cosmetic niche will have a significant presence across all major regions with varying regulatory requirements.

Centralize Compliance Data

Maintaining organized records of formulations, testing results, certificates and regulatory submissions is essential for efficient compliance management, whether your brand is creating one product or a complex line of cosmetic goods.

Product lifecycle management (PLM) systems offer particular advantages for tracking this information.

Develop a Korea-specific Compliance Checklist

Creating a comprehensive checklist tailored to the Cosmetic Act requirements helps ensure nothing falls through the cracks during product development and launch.

Plan for Global Compliance, Too

Many white label brands aim for multi-market distribution. Market research indicates specific regional preferences that may influence formulation decisions:

• North America: High-performance skincare, clean beauty, cruelty-free formulations
• Europe: Sustainability, dermatology-approved solutions, plant-based ingredients
• Asia Pacific: Technologically advanced formulations, affordable luxury, localized products
• Middle East: Halal-certified products showing growth potential

Identifying overlapping regulatory requirements early in development minimizes reformulation needs and streamlines documentation.

Request Complete Documentation

Korean manufacturers typically maintain excellent compliance records.

Request complete documentation packages including:

• Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
• Certificate of Analysis (COA)
• GMP certification
• Stability testing results
• Preservation efficacy testing

White label brands juggling complex regulatory requirements benefit enormously from purpose-built technology solutions.

PLM platforms like Centric Software provide comprehensive tools to manage the entire compliance process.

These platforms enable white label brands to maintain ingredient libraries, track formula compliance factors and manage documentation all on one agile, cloud-based platform.

For K-Beauty compliance specifically, PLM systems excel at tracking the additional documentation requirements for functional cosmetics and managing the complex labeling translations necessary for multi-market distribution.

The right PLM system transforms regulatory compliance from a bottleneck into a competitive advantage, enabling faster product development while maintaining rigorous standards—a crucial edge in a market projected to grow between 6 and 9% annually through 2035.

Navigating K-Beauty regulations requires diligence but offers substantial rewards for white label brands.

The Korean cosmetic regulatory framework, while stringent, ultimately ensures product safety and efficacy—qualities that translate into consumer trust and brand longevity.

With Centric PLM™, white label brands can successfully leverage Korea’s exceptional manufacturing capabilities while meeting its world-class regulatory standards in a market projected to more than double in size over the next decade.