"Recruiting Promising K-Beauty Companies for Entry into U.S., Japanese, and Southeast Asian Markets"

Recruitment for 'K-Beauty Creator Challenge' by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups
Marketing Support from Global Platform Providers
Linked Export Assistance Programs Including Export Voucher

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on October 13 that it will begin recruiting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate in the '2025 K-Beauty Creator Challenge' starting October 14.

The K-Beauty Creator Challenge is a public-private partnership project aimed at discovering promising SMEs in the beauty sector for export and supporting their entry into global markets. In its inaugural year last year, 10 companies were selected from among 178 applicants seeking to enter the U.S. market. These companies received marketing consulting from Amazon, a global platform provider, as well as support through the government’s export assistance program, the Export Voucher.

This year, due to an increase in companies seeking export diversification as a result of U.S. tariff policies, the target regions have been expanded to three: the United States, Japan, and Southeast Asia. The Ministry plans to select a total of nine companies, three from each region. Companies that pass the preliminary, main, and final rounds will receive support such as overseas expansion preparation, platform onboarding training, and one-on-one customized consulting.

The final selected companies will be able to enter global platforms for each region and receive marketing support from these platforms to strengthen their branding and increase sales. The government will also provide linked support through export assistance programs such as the Export Voucher and overseas certification acquisition. Startups will be given preferential benefits if they participate in the Initial Startup Package program.

Eligible participants are SMEs in the beauty sector with export performance of less than USD 5 million in the previous year. Prospective entrepreneurs with products at the prototype stage or beyond are also eligible to apply. Applications will be accepted until October 28.

Further details can be found on the Gobiz Korea website of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency.

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