全球化工分销商加速收购韩国美妆原料商，但本条为旧交易综述而非新增催化

Global chemical and specialty ingredient distributors are acquiring South Korean cosmetics ingredient makers one after another as the K-beauty market expands. While overseas companies move to secure K-beauty ingredient technology and supply chains, industry observers say the technological competitiveness of Korean ingredient makers goes unrecognized at home, where indifference to ingredients and a preference for cheap imports prevail.
IMCD, a Dutch specialty chemicals and ingredient distributor, acquired a 100% stake in Dongyang FT, a Korean cosmetics ingredient company, in January, according to the beauty industry on the 30th. Founded in 2009, Dongyang FT operates its own research and development facilities and supports cosmetics manufacturers with ingredient formulation and product development. Its operating profit rose to 17.8 billion won last year from 5.4 billion won in 2023.
IMCD is a global market leader that posted revenue of 4.7789 billion euros (approximately 7.64 trillion won, or about $5.3 billion) last year. Before this deal, it acquired the life sciences division of YCAM, a Korean ingredient distributor, in the second quarter of last year.
IMCD plans to use the Dongyang FT acquisition to expand beyond ingredient distribution into K-beauty product development and technical support. In January, immediately after the deal, it opened a beauty and personal care application laboratory and "Beauty Studio Seoul" in Seoul. The facility helps brands and manufacturers combine desired ingredients and textures to produce prototypes quickly.
Brenntag of Germany, which ranks alongside IMCD among the global heavyweights in chemicals and ingredients, signed a contract on the 3rd of this month to acquire Woojin Trading, a Korean cosmetics ingredient distributor. Founded in 1999, Woojin Trading has distributed beauty ingredients based on its network of global ingredient suppliers and its own laboratory. Brenntag plans to use the acquisition as a springboard to expand in Asia as well as Korea.
BOLD, the venture fund of L'Oreal Group, invested 10.5 billion won in OliX, a Korean biotech company, in June. The two companies plan to develop solutions for skin, hair and nail health using OliX's short interfering RNA (siRNA) technology.
Behind the global interest in Korean ingredient makers is a product launch cycle of just six months to a year from planning to mass production. Because consumer response can be gauged within a year, securing a Korean ingredient maker gives global players a testing ground that shows immediately which ingredients and formulations actually sell. "Ingredients that gain popularity in Korea have a strong chance of spreading to global markets, so the growth potential is large," an industry official said. "Securing a company that supplies ingredients and technology to multiple brands lets you reduce dependence on any single brand while still capturing the benefits of K-beauty's growth."
In contrast to that global interest, Korean ingredient makers complain that their competitiveness goes unrecognized on home turf. According to a report by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), Korea holds about 24,000 of the roughly 230,000 global patents in natural cosmetics, or about 10%, putting it in a two-way race with China. But the report noted that "technological competitiveness is not translating into the development, production and commercialization of an actual ingredient industry, and dependence on imported ingredients remains high." In other words, the technology is not converting into a premium for domestically produced ingredients in the market.
Industry voices say the technological strength of ingredient makers must be publicized so that the trickle-down effect of K-beauty growth, concentrated in finished-product exports, reaches ingredient companies as well. "Consumers buying K-beauty products do not distinguish whether the hyaluronic acid is Korean or Chinese," an industry official said. "Ingredients also need business-to-business marketing and branding that can communicate quality and technology to consumers and brands."