Olive Young Hits A New High: 100+ Brands Surpass 100 Billion KRW In Sales

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CJ Olive Young, hits a record with 100 brands in its stores surpassing 100 billion KRW ($75 million) in annual revenue in 2024!

Key Insights

• Number of K-beauty brands generating more than 100 billion KRW at Olive Young has crossed 100 for the first time in 2024.
• The first brand to make 100 billion KRW at Olive Young was in 2013.
• Olive Young has become a “K-Beauty Incubator”.
• Torriden and Biodance are quite popular among tourists, giving them massive growth opportunities.
• ‘Inner Beauty’ category on Olive Young is growing by 30% annually.
• ‘Clean Beauty’ is also another popular category on Olive Young.

South Korea’s leading health and beauty retailer, CJ Olive Young, has reached a significant milestone in 2024—for the first time, 100 brands in its stores recorded over 100 billion KRW ($75 million) in annual revenue. This achievement underscores Olive Young’s pivotal role in incubating small and medium-sized K-beauty brands, driving their growth both domestically and internationally.

Rapid Growth of Olive Young’s “100 Billion Club”

On February 8, the company announced that 100 brands in its portfolio surpassed the 100 billion KRW revenue mark in 2023, a massive leap from the first-ever brand to achieve this in 2013. The past four years have seen explosive growth in this category.

The number of brands in Olive Young’s “100 Billion Club” has been growing rapidly in the 2020s:

• 2020: 36 brands
• 2021: 41 brands
• 2022: 61 brands
• 2023: 83 brands

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Among last year’s newcomers to the “100 Billion Club” were Biodance and S.Nature, two brands that gained significant traction among international tourists shopping in Olive Young stores. Their popularity reflects a growing global appetite for Korean beauty products, particularly among foreign visitors seeking exclusive K-beauty essentials.

Torriden, Mediheal, and Round Lab Hit the Trillion-Won Mark

Although the 100 billion KRW is a big deal, there are three Korean skincare brands that stand out – Mediheal, Round Lab, and Torriden. These brands are making more than 1 trillion KRW ($750 million) in revenue at Olive Young alone.

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Torriden, an indie Korean beauty brand, specializes in products that work on improving skin barrier protection. It joined the Olive Young platform in 2019, hit 100 billion KRW in 2022, and skyrocketed past 1 trillion KRW in just two years. It is also the highest selling brand among tourists shopping at its stores.

K-Beauty’s Rising Stars: Top 10 Best-Selling Brands at Olive Young

The top 10 revenue-generating brands at Olive Young in 2024 were dominated by domestic small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs):

1. Goodal
2. Numbers In
3. Dr.G
4. Round Lab
5. Rom&nd
6. Mediheal
7. Banila Co
8. Anove
9. Clio
10. Torriden

(Listed randomly)

A happening news in the industry that may change the landscape in future is that K-beauty brand Dr.G’s parent company was acquired by L’Oréal Group. It is a significant move of investing in Korean brands by the international beauty giants.

Olive Young’s Strategy: Incubating Small Brands into Global Competitors

Olive Young has time and again helped small and mid-size brands to national and then international successes. And this is not just accidental – it is a strategic initiative by the company. It pioneers new product categories and expand markets. Clean Beauty is one such initiative.

Clean Beauty: A Strategic Growth Driver

• In 2020, Olive Young became the first Korean retailer to introduce a Clean Beauty certification, setting industry standards by excluding harmful ingredients.
• Olive Young actively collaborates with brands to develop and market Clean Beauty products, ensuring their visibility and credibility.
• As a result, Clean Beauty brand sales surged by 51% in 2023, and the number of certified brands more than doubled since the initiative’s launch.

The clean beauty initiative strongly resonates with the global consumers, especially after pandemic. These consumers prefer eco-friendly, vegan, and non-toxic cosmetics.

The Rise of Inner Beauty: Olive Young’s Foray into Edible Skincare

Beyond skincare and cosmetics, Olive Young has been aggressively expanding into Inner Beauty, promoting edible skincare products as part of the growing “Healthy Pleasure” (헬시플레저) trend. Key product categories include collagen supplements, glutathione for skin-brightening, and probiotics for gut and skin health

This move is paying off significantly—Olive Young’s Inner Beauty category has grown by an average of 30% annually over the past two years. In 2023, wellness brands such as Foodology, BB Lab, and Lactofit joined the retailer’s list of best-selling products, a space previously dominated by traditional cosmetics.

Editorial Take: Olive Young’s Growing Influence in K-Beauty’s Globalization

1. From Retailer to Global Beauty Incubator

Olive Young’s success goes far beyond being a simple beauty retailer. It has positioned itself as a “K-Beauty incubator,” shaping trends and propelling brands from small-scale operations to multi-million-dollar global players.

2. A Stronghold for Indie Beauty Brands

The rise of Torriden, Round Lab, and Rom&nd proves that indie K-beauty brands can now rival long-standing industry giants. With Olive Young’s distribution network, strategic marketing, and category innovation, these brands no longer need the backing of large conglomerates to succeed.

3. The Future: Expansion Beyond Korea

As K-beauty continues to gain global momentum, Olive Young is well-positioned to drive further expansion. Its focus on Clean Beauty, Inner Beauty, and influencer-driven marketing aligns perfectly with emerging global skincare trends.

With its strategic incubation of rising brands, the store is set to remain a dominant force in K-beauty’s globalization, shaping the industry well beyond 2024 and into the next decade.

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