Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** K-Beauty is making a strategic pivot into pharmacies, leveraging functional cosmetics to tap into new distribution channels. As brands like Athome expand with products such as the CPR Serum, this shift signals a growing convergence of beauty and dermatological care.
K-Beauty’s growth trajectory is extending beyond beauty devices into derma cosmetics. There is a growing movement to establish pharmacies as new distribution channels, leveraging functional cosmetics.
According to industry sources on the 18th, Athome is expanding its business by fostering pharmacies as key distribution channels. Athome’s private aesthetic brand ‘TOM’ launched its wrinkle-care product ‘CPR Serum’ containing collagen, peptide, and retinal ingredients at Ready Young Pharmacy at the end of February. After building a growth foundation with beauty devices using droplet ultrasound technology, TOM is accelerating its pharmacy channel strategy by expanding its portfolio to include derma skincare.
TOM also introduced ‘PPM Cream’, which contains skin-soothing ingredients such as panthenol and madecassoside. Immediately after its launch at the Optima Wellness Museum Pharmacy in Seongsu-dong, the PPM Cream ranked first in both sales volume and revenue within the soothing cream category. Based on this success, the company is expanding its distribution network centered on pharmacies and hospitals, and is also pursuing entry into the pharmacy platform company Barofarm.
The industry attributes this growth to expanding consumer demand for managing multiple skin concerns with a single product, and a rising preference for pharmacy channels that offer professional consultation and product recommendations. An industry official explained:
The derma cosmetics market itself is growing rapidly. According to e-commerce analysis platform ItemScout, search volumes for ‘derma cosmetics’ and ‘pharmacy cosmetics’ have increased 8-fold and 4-fold, respectively, over the past year. Competition is intensifying as not only cosmetic companies but also dermatology clinics and pharmaceutical companies successively launch functional cosmetics. Distribution channels, once centered on department stores and beauty specialty stores, are expanding into pharmacies, creating a new battleground for functional cosmetics.
According to a report released in June by global market research firm Fortune Business Insights, the domestic functional cosmetics market is projected to grow from $8.68 billion (approximately KRW 11.7 trillion) in 2025 to $17.01 billion (approximately KRW 23 trillion) by 2034.
[Image: Athome’s private aesthetic brand TOM’s ‘CPR Serum’ displayed at a pharmacy. Photo provided by Athome.]