Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** Fuzhen Bio’s CepoLAB is making an unprecedented leap into the U.S. market by launching in all 250 Costco stores simultaneously this November, bypassing the typical phased entry. This bold move signals strong confidence in the premium skincare brand’s potential.
Fuzhen Bio (CEO Kim Yoon-soo) is launching its premium bio skincare brand CepoLAB into approximately 250 Costco stores across the United States this November, marking a full-scale push into the American market. Typically, overseas brands enter U.S. Costco offline stores through online platforms or select test stores to validate market potential before gradually expanding. However, CepoLAB is bypassing this process and entering all 250 stores simultaneously. The company attributes this to Costco headquarters’ evaluation based on the brand’s proven competitiveness in the domestic market.
CepoLAB’s flagship product, ‘Biogenic Essence,’ recorded cumulative sales of 8 million bottles and cumulative revenue of 200 billion KRW as of the first half of this year. Based on this success, the company plans to expand its position as a premium skincare brand in the U.S. market.
CepoLAB views Costco not merely as a sales channel but as a strategic foothold for targeting the U.S. market. Notably, Costco’s core customer base—women in their 40s and 50s—aligns with CepoLAB’s primary demographic, creating synergy. CepoLAB is a premium brand selling its 155ml product at 129,000 KRW, with approximately 90% of customers aged 40 or older and a repurchase rate of 52%.
The brand’s core competitiveness lies in Fuzhen Bio’s proprietary ‘CLEPS® Biosynthesis’ platform. This skincare solution is based on the novel bio-substance ‘CLEPS,’ which activates cellular sugar consumption to inhibit the formation of Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs). It is said to help improve various skin indicators such as elasticity, hydration, texture, tone, and lifting. Related research findings have been published in the SCI-level international journal ‘Cosmetics’.
With the Costco entry as a catalyst, CepoLAB plans to expand brand marketing nationwide across the U.S. starting next year. Unlike existing K-beauty brands that target younger consumers with price competitiveness, CepoLAB aims at high-income consumers aged 40 and older, targeting the premium skincare market. To this end, the company will expand local PR, digital marketing, and collaborations with influencers and experts, while also pursuing entry into premium distribution channels such as department stores, premium retailers, esthetic clinics, medical spas, and dermatology clinics.
Prior to the Costco entry, CepoLAB recently participated in ‘Cosmoprof North America Las Vegas,’ where it discussed premium distribution channel strategies with U.S. and global buyers.