InterviewKorean firm Elyssia finds success in overseas baby care product market

Visitors to Baby and Kids Best Buy in Bangkok, Thailand, check Elyssia's Moyuum products in this May 2025 photo. Courtesy of Elyssia

It has been six years since Korean total baby care products developer Elyssia began accelerating its efforts for global expansion.

Since private equity fund company Widus Partners acquired the firm in 2021 and gave it room to explore unlimited business opportunities, the company pushed ahead with trying to win the interest of consumers worldwide, one country after another.

Now, the Seoul-based company distributes about 30 brands across categories of skin care, toy, book, health supplement, breastfeed, hygiene, everyday product, interior and furniture, with 2,000 different types of product. About 80 percent of the brands are Elyssia’s private labels, manufactured by original design manufacturers in Korea and China.

The portfolio has been possible due to Elyssia's three particular strengths.

First, it has adopted a five-stage inspection process called "gate review" (GR) to pipeline products in the highest market needs and with the most trustworthy quality. The data-driven process oversees from market analysis to sample production, marketing, promotion and final check-up.

The comprehensive, watertight process is what is allowing the company to manage its brands numbering 30 in overall even with a small group of managers in manners of efficiency. The company said the GR process attributes to such time- and labor-saving management.

Second is a culture of tenacious execution. Elyssia said “those with grit and passion become our leaders and the organization’s motto is to dig into problems relentlessly, driven by a belief that there is always a better way.” The company added such culture has been built voluntarily. Elyssia believes that sustainable tenacity cannot be forced.

To bring that feisty nature upon its employees, the company supports employees' well-being through initiatives such as an in-house cafe run by professional baristas and flexible day-off scheduling. It also operates a company-wide culture campaign called ACT in Elyssia on a voluntary participation basis.

Elyssia's employee-friendly culture has gained recognition from outside, receiving multiple certifications as a family-friendly company awarded by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

A baby models Elyssia's pacifier and bottles under Moyuum. / Courtesy of Elyssia

“Tenacity endures only when employees internalize these values themselves. A culture where passion and autonomy coexist, this is the reason Elyssia’s tenacity remains unwavering,” an Elyssia official said.

Elyssia's third strength lies in the people who have been shaped by the company's GR process and culture. Within the GR process, individuals gain hands-on experience across the entire value chain, including market analysis, product planning, marketing and sales. This is why Elyssia is often described as a “training ground for brand managers,” the company said.

Many professionals who had worked at Elyssia were later recruited as brand managers at major domestic consumer goods companies or marketing specialists at Korean branches of global baby care brands.

“The fact that Elyssia alumni are recognized across the industry speaks for the organization's caliber,” the official said.

Widening exports

The company now exports to 12 countries. As of this year, exports have surpassed 20 percent of the company’s overall sales, a steep hike from 4 percent before the acquisition by Widus Partners. Established only in 2010, the rate with which the company expanded its global market and export volume has by no means been tardy.

Considering the company is based in a country with one of the world's worst birthrates, the increasing global portfolio is even more impressive. In 2025, Korea posted a total fertility rate of 0.8, among the lowest in the world. There were even projections that the country’s population of 51.7 million, as of 2025, will be nearly halved within 60 years.

Elyssia, despite the grim mood, managed to steadily grow its domestic sales. In 2021, the company began investing in overseas expansion. It was the direction the company took as a new growth engine beyond the local market.

In Vietnam, its largest market, Elyssia directly supplies its most popular breastfeeding brand, Moyuum, to major baby care product distributors, including Concung, the largest with over 650 local stores, and Kids Plaza, the second-largest. It has led the brand to becoming No. 1 in the country’s baby feeding bottle market.

Visitors in a baby fair in Hanoi, Vietnam, check Elyssia's products, Sept. 26, 2025. Courtesy of Elyssia

Meanwhile, Moyuum has become Elyssia's signature label for its global consumers. In 2024, it won the 7 Million Dollar Export Tower Award from the Korea International Trade Association. It has also swept awards from the iF Design Award, Red Dot Design Award in Germany, Good Design Award and Golden Pin Design Award in Taiwan and was a finalist in the International Design Excellence Awards in the United States.

In Taiwan, Moyuum's all-silicon pacifier has seen its monthly sales spike by over 50 percent and conquer the breastfeeding category at Momo, a major Taiwanese baby care product platform. Silicon baby food cubes under the brand have also become a bestselling baby food in Taiwan and are currently available at 500 offline stores there.

Other Elyssia brands have also climbed the popularity ladder in local markets outside Korea.

Diaper brand Momo Rabbit first sparked buzz on social network channels across Vietnam before drawing national attention. Its exposure on state-run TV broadcaster VTV increased consumer trust from local parents and placed the brand's products on the largest Vietnamese e-commerce platforms including Shopee and Lazada.

Biomela, a health supplement brand, has become a local buzzword in Vietnam after expanding its drop-type supplement lineup in response to the needs of local consumers. This came after the Korean firm’s five-year partnership with global nutritional and bioscience company IFF developed Howaru clinically-mastered probiotics, which were applied to the products.

Sleeping supplies brand Elava, meanwhile, has built up a strong market base in Thailand. Central Group, occupying over 70 percent of the department store market in the country, and The Mall Group, another major company in the market, currently distribute Elava products in all their locations. On Shopee, the brand has been a No. 1 pick in the backflow prevention cushion category for the last three years.

Elyssia said it is now keen on pursuing other global markets. The company's debut in China through major e-commerce platform Tmall Global this year as well as its entry in the U.S. and Japan markets through Amazon and major baby care distributors, respectively, can further diversify its international consumer bases beyond Southeast Asia.

Elyssia's Moyuum products are displayed at a baby products fair in Hong Kong, Jan. 12. Courtesy of Elyssia

A recent report by global finance consultant KPMG Samjong Accounting Corp. said Korean baby care product distributors must start finding new growth engines outside Korea, giving the company all the more reason to go full throttle with its global expansion. Elyssia, citing the report, said the rising popularity of K-culture worldwide has heightened global interest in Korean baby products, saying “now is the perfect timing for expanding their markets to abroad.”

“Export is not simply about selling products. It is a process of building trust. That is also why we worked with Widus Partners to develop our global business models. Listening closely to voices of local parents and reflecting those voices in our products, while sharing Korea’s safe and thoughtful parenting culture with parents around the world, that is how Elyssia’s company value, ‘Joy in Nurture,’ is realized and how we move toward becoming a truly global brand,” Elyssia CEO Pyo Soon-kyu told The Korea Times in an interview.

“Now, Elyssia's next chapter is beginning. With the strategic support of Widus Partners, Elyssia, equipped with a solid system and accelerating its global growth, is on a mission to perfect K-baby care on the world stage.”

Elyssia started as an importer, selecting foreign brands and their products for the Korean market. The company has now expanded its capacity to becoming a manufacturer of its own brands, ensuring safety and design. Last year, Elyssia posted record sales of over 114 billion won ($77 million). The figure peaked following a steady growth from 96 billion in 2022 to 100 billion in 2023 and 105 billion in 2024.