South Korea's top beauty conglomerates Amorepacific and LG H&H are sharply increasing advertising and promotion spending as the K-beauty market pivots from brand-awareness-driven sales to exposure-led growth driven by social media and short-form content. This shift, pioneered by indie brands like APR and d'Alba Global, signals a structural change in how aesthetic products reach overseas buyers, making online visibility a critical factor for distributors and clinics sourcing K-beauty brands.
Market signal
Amorepacific's advertising and promotion expenses in Q1 2026 reached 147.6 billion won ($107 million), up 19.7% year-on-year, while sales grew only 6.4% to 1.1358 trillion won. The ratio of ad spend to sales rose from 11.6% to 13.0%. LG H&H spent 114.8 billion won on advertising in the same period, up 11.7%, despite a 6.8% decline in sales to 1.5766 trillion won, pushing its ad-to-sales ratio from 6.1% to 7.3%.
Indie brand playbook
Indie brands have demonstrated the effectiveness of high marketing spend. APR's advertising expenses surged 147.1% to 116.7 billion won in Q1, with the ad-to-sales ratio rising from 17.8% to 19.7%. d'Alba Global increased ad spending by 33.8% to 22.9 billion won, while sales grew 50.5% to 171.2 billion won, maintaining an ad ratio around 13-15% over the past two years.
Channel shift
According to a Samil PwC report, the K-beauty market is moving from a model where brand awareness drives sales expansion to one where demand is first created through distribution channels and platforms. Products now gain consumer traction on TikTok, e-commerce, and global multi-brand platforms before spreading to offline channels, reversing the traditional sales network expansion pattern.
What buyers should watch
For overseas importers and clinic buyers, this shift means that brand recognition alone no longer guarantees market performance. Products with strong consumer response on social media and e-commerce platforms are more likely to succeed across channels. Distributors should evaluate brands based on their online engagement metrics and platform presence, not just heritage or offline distribution history.
Regulatory and channel signals
Amorepacific's Mise-en-Scène brand launched a global TikTok challenge campaign in the US, Thailand, and Indonesia featuring K-pop group aespa. LG H&H is strengthening content collaborations with local creators on TikTok and Instagram, leveraging Dr. Groot's entry into Sephora. These moves indicate that major conglomerates are adopting indie-style marketing strategies to reach overseas consumers directly through digital channels.
Source: Read the original report | Published: June 02, 2026