[Click eStock] "HPO Expected to Benefit from Consumer Recovery in Korea and China... Record-High Sales Forecast"

On May 14, Korea Investment & Securities analyzed that HPO is expected to achieve record-high sales and improved profitability, supported by the recovery of consumer demand in Korea and China.

Eunji Kang, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, diagnosed that the recent recovery in domestic consumption and the increase in foreign tourists are having a positive impact on the health functional foods industry. She explained, "From January to April this year, the cumulative spending by foreign visitors to Korea at pharmacies reached 80.9 billion won, representing a 193.2% increase compared to the same period last year. The share also rose by 6.0 percentage points to 10.9% year-on-year."

HPO sells the "Denmark Probiotics Story" through its premium health functional food brand, Denps. Notably, more than 60% of its offline channel sales come from Olive Young and duty-free shops, leading to expectations that the company will benefit from the recovery of domestic consumption and increased inbound demand.

Kang noted, "Since 2020, HPO has improved its channel mix by focusing on high-profit offline channels," and evaluated that "expansion of sales through Olive Young and duty-free shop channels will also have a positive impact on future profitability."

She added, "Growth is continuing as Denps health functional food brand and Edition Denmark products have also entered Olive Young's wellness curation platform 'Olive Better,' which launched as an offline store in February this year."

HPO has set its earnings guidance this year at 300 billion won in sales revenue and 20 billion won in operating profit. This represents an increase of 16.2% and 47.6%, respectively, compared to the previous year, with the operating margin projected at 6.7%.

Kang also highlighted the growth potential of HPO's subsidiaries. She explained, "Biofarm, a health functional food manufacturing subsidiary, has secured OEM orders from Nutricost, the top-selling health functional food company on Amazon. Meanwhile, the Denmark plant of High&GoGo, a growth milk powder brand sold in China, is targeting to reach the break-even point within this year."

She further analyzed, "The derma cosmetic brand Judoc, in which HPO acquired a 51.9% stake in 2025, is also expected to see sales growth driven by Olive Young and Amazon, and there should be no difficulty in achieving the annual guidance."

She emphasized, "HPO is a company that can benefit from both the recovery of consumer demand in Korea and China and the expansion of inbound demand."

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