What is the Cosmetics trends 2025 keywords?
On March 19th, I attended a beauty seminar organized by Gyeonggi Province, where I gained a wealth of the latest insights.
Today, I’d like to share that information with you. I hope this information will be helpful!
Recently, there has been a buzz in Korea about the cosmetic export performance.
In 2024, the export volume of cosmetics reached a record high, surpassing $10 billion.
The driving force behind this success lies in the brands of Korea’s renowned small and medium-sized enterprises. Ironically, while the rankings of Korea’s major cosmetic corporations remain unchanged, their sales are showing a downward trend. (Currently, the Top 5 are LG Household & Health Care, Amorepacific, Kolmar Korea, Cosmax, and Aekyung.)
What’s noteworthy is that two of Korea’s leading OEM/ODM companies are included in the Top 5. This indicates that global and domestic brands are still showing interest in Korea’s one-stop production services.
Now, let me share the recent keywords for future cosmetics trends 2025 discussed during the seminar.
The most representative keyword is “Clean and Sustainable Beauty.”
[Keywords for Future Cosmetics Trends 2025]
1. Clean and sustainable beauty
2. Sustainability
3. Safety for skin and skin microbiome
4. Transparency for product and efficacy
5. Eco-friendly packaging and waterless formulation
6. Performance
Among these, the most emphasized keyword during the seminar was “Sustainability,” which encompasses various goals.
This includes ensuring sustainable quality and stability and sourcing raw materials in ways that minimize environmental impact. For example, palm oil is one of the most considered ingredients in cosmetic formulations.
While efforts have been made to reduce its usage by substituting with coconut oil, both are agricultural products, raising environmental protection concerns. Consequently, many raw material manufacturers are aiming to develop formulations similar to palm oil by using by-products and innovative technology without compromising the habitats of developing countries.
In the cosmetic industry, topics such as “environmental changes,” “consumers,” and “competitors for products” are recurring.
Currently, attention is centered on environmental changes, highlighting the strong interest in sustainability.
Beyond environmental integration, there is also a growing focus on consumers. This shift is due to the emergence of Gen-Z as the primary consumer group, ushering in an era of “hyper-personalization.”
Recently, Well-aging has become trendy even in Korea.
Surprisingly, this trend is led not by the middle-aged (40s–50s), but by younger generations, specifically Gen-Z. While the 30s group has historically shown interest in anti-aging, younger generations are now joining in, showcasing significant attention to Well-aging and Anti-aging in the cosmetic industry.
An intriguing point is the global patent trends related to cosmetics. Biodegradable materials (24%), AI (21%), and microbiomes (14%) occupy the largest proportions. Microbiomes, closely tied to Well-aging, may feel like a faded concept in Korea, but actual research proving their effects on skin has only recently begun, suggesting their limitless potential. Although microbiomes seem less popular in Korea now, they are still highly sought-after as concept ingredients abroad.
While all the mentioned trends relate to eco-friendliness and skin efficacy, the keyword garnering the most attention is AI-integrated beauty.
This concept often brings to mind beauty devices, but there are also ideas like using AI to study which facial features define first impressions and developing cosmetics targeting those areas.
As consumer expectations rise and technology advances, the cosmetic industry is rapidly evolving. In these transformative trends, developing products with sustainability and innovation has become even more crucial. To remain competitive in the global market, it’s essential to focus on industry changes and seek new opportunities. Let’s navigate the flow of the future cosmetic market and find solutions for sustainable growth together with WITH.C KOREA!