K-beauty accelerator in US hails potential for strong boom in 2026

Online influencers, Ulta Beauty officials and beauty publication editors attend Holiday Glow Night, a program organized by Landing International’s curation project, K-Beauty World, in West Hollywood, Calif., Dec. 18, 2025. Courtesy of Landing International

A major Korean beauty product vendor in the United States has predicted 2026 as the “GOLDEN era” for K-beauty, citing the diversification of popular product categories and expansion into key U.S. offline retail chains. The acronym GOLDEN stands for Growth of the market, Omnichannel, Legacy, Device, Experience and New face, highlighting the sector’s multifaceted potential, the company said.

Los Angeles-based Landing International, which has introduced more than 1,000 beauty products from 200 Korean brands into U.S. retailers including Ulta Beauty, Target and Walmart since 2013, said the market is expecting its strongest boom yet this year. As Ulta Beauty’s exclusive vendor, the company emphasized that Korean firms will need localized strategies to sustain growth and fully capitalize on the GOLDEN era.

Landing International confirmed that, as of the third quarter of 2025, the United States accounted for more than 51 percent of K-beauty’s global online sales, surpassing China to become the world’s largest e-commerce market in the sector. The company cited a CNBC report showing that sales of Korean products in the U.S. jumped 37 percent from the previous year.

Landing International said K-beauty’s market growth is multifaceted, driven in part by the wider availability of products across major offline retailers, which remain the primary channel for U.S. beauty consumers. The company noted a particular surge among young consumers in their 20s, who often discover viral products online and then flock to purchase them at physical stores.

Advertisement for APR’s beauty devices and cosmetic products under its signature brand, Medicube. APR’s sales in the United States during last year’s Black Friday period from November to December tripled from the previous year. Courtesy of APR

To cater to offline demand, Landing International launched a preview of the new K-Beauty World category on Ulta Beauty’s online platform last July and later rolled it out full-scale at the distributor’s offline stores.

“Some 95 percent of Ulta Beauty shoppers come back to the retailer’s offline outlets or online channels for more shopping. At offline stores, many American visitors are still unfamiliar with K-beauty. Korean brands must promote themselves offline as well, like via pop-up stores where visitors can experience products before buying. Over 80 percent of the U.S. beauty market are offline channels like Ulta Beauty, Costco and Target,” a Landing official said.

“Some 95 percent of Ulta Beauty shoppers return to the retailer’s offline outlets or online channels for more shopping. At offline stores, many American visitors are still unfamiliar with K-beauty,” they added.

“Korean brands must promote themselves offline as well, for example through pop-up stores where visitors can experience products before buying. Over 80 percent of the U.S. beauty market is composed of offline channels like Ulta Beauty, Costco and Target.”

Diversification of K-beauty is another market trend in the U.S. Categories now include not only color cosmetics and skin care but also hair care, scalp care, body care and self-care devices equipped with innovative technologies, which drew attention at the CES 2026 tech fair in Las Vegas last week.

“New faces have emerged in the U.S. beauty industry, such as hair care and body care products, giving rise to buzzwords like ‘skinification,’” the Landing International official said. “The device market is also expected to increase in value from $14 billion in 2022 to $90 billion by 2030, according to the Samil PwC Business Research Institute. The sector is likely to see rising demand and a larger consumer base in the U.S.”