Front Row helps Korean beauty brands translate product innovation and demand into durable growth in the US and Europe - across brand, content, marketplaces, demand generation and commerce.
With a team being built in Seoul and established beauty expertise across the US and Europe, we work close to where products are created and close to the consumers they need to reach.
Michelle Lee on Fat Mascara
Our Chief Brand Officer joined Jessica Matlin for a full hour on Korean beauty: why the first wave stalled in the US, what TikTok and Amazon changed, and which categories travel next.
In the episode:
- Why US shoppers were not ready for the first wave, and what changed
- How TikTok and Amazon together reopened the market after four years in which no new Korean brand broke through
- Why Amazon became a discovery channel, and what that means for a listing
- The misconception that K-beauty runs on viral products
- K-pharmacy, Korean wellness, and the categories arriving next
Michelle has covered and worked in Korean beauty for more than a decade. She was Editor-in-Chief of Allure from 2015 to 2021 and held a global role at Netflix, with part of her team based in Korea.
Watch the full podcast episode here.
The problem
Winning in Korea does not transfer to winning in the US.
A Korean brand usually arrives here with demand already built. 83% of beauty shoppers start their research on TikTok, and 38% move to a marketplace to buy. The product is differentiated, the formulation is real, and the format was designed to be understood at a glance.
Then the handoff breaks. The creative that built the brand at home does not explain it to a shopper who has never heard of you. The grinder cap that solved a hygiene problem reads as a gimmick in a listing image. An efficacy claim gets sorted into a US price comparison and discounted to hold rank.
None of that is a product problem. It is a positioning and execution problem, and it costs far more to undo twelve months in than to get right at launch.
Front Row in Korea
We are building in Seoul.
Michelle has been in Seoul roughly every other month for the past year and a half, about ten days at a time, meeting brands and touring manufacturers' innovation centers. We are now standing up a Seoul-based operation.
The reason is practical. The time zone gap makes real collaboration hard, and the decisions that shape a US launch happen in conversation. Brands we work with get face time locally and the full global Front Row team behind them.
Capabilities
What we run for Korean brands
Front Row is a growth partner that connects brands with the capabilities they need to lead on marketplaces and win in commerce. For a brand entering the US or Europe, four things have to work as one system.
Marketplaces compound. Amazon and TikTok Shop are where the demand you built everywhere else turns into rank, reviews, and repeat purchase.
Brand and content build the foundation, so a shopper who has never heard of you understands what you are in three seconds.
Demand and search capture the moment, across TikTok, retail media, and paid search.
Your digital flagship converts, with a D2C experience that carries the brand rather than just taking orders.
Tell us about your brand.
If you are a Korean brand planning a US or European launch, or already selling here without the traction your products deserve, we want to hear about it.
Tell us where you are and what you are trying to do. Someone on our K-beauty team will come back to you directly, in English or Korean.
K-beauty is not only creating new competitors. It is resetting what consumers expect from the entire beauty category.Shoppers increasingly expect products that solve small but meaningful problems, content that educates while it entertains, and connected experiences across social, marketplaces, retail and D2C. Copying K-beauty’s packaging or latest ingredient will not create that advantage. Understanding the operating principles behind its success can.Front Row combines that perspective with deep US beauty, brand and commerce expertise. We help established brands identify where they can move faster, differentiate more clearly and build the connected customer journey today’s beauty shopper expects. Connect with our team below to learn more.
