Competition for celebrity endorsements is intensifying in the K-beauty market as brands recruit global K-pop stars to drive overseas sales.
With international revenue growing rapidly, beauty brands are moving beyond simple brand awareness campaigns to focus on marketing strategies that leverage fandom-based purchasing power.
Tirtir, which has seen strong growth in the U.S. market, appointed BTS member V as its global ambassador in November to accelerate its push into overseas markets, according to industry sources on Sunday.
Amorepacific's Hera selected Stray Kids member Felix as its global ambassador in August. The move marked the brand's first male model since Blackpink's Jennie, who represented the brand for six years.
Laneige has also tapped BTS member Jin as its global ambassador to expand brand recognition in North America and Asia. APR appointed Ive member Jang Won-young as the global model for its beauty device brand Agearre, launching large-scale campaigns since this summer. The strategy aims to boost both search traffic and purchase conversions by featuring K-pop stars with global fanbases.
Amorepacific's Innisfree brand also selected Seventeen member Mingyu as an advertising model. The brand's female model position has remained vacant since the contract with Jang Won-young ended this summer, following an earlier transition from Girls' Generation's Yoona.
"Given Amorepacific's goal of increasing overseas sales to 70 percent of total revenue by 2035, the choice of next-generation global models will serve as an indicator of brand strategy direction," an industry official said.
Emerging K-beauty brands are also aggressively pursuing celebrity marketing. Mixsoon has signed global boy group Enhypen, while Apieu has enlisted NCT member Jeno, both expanding campaigns targeting millennial and Gen Z consumers in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Skincare brand Abib appointed actor and singer Cha Eun-woo as its global ambassador to strengthen its brand image in Southeast Asia and Europe.
The trend of appointing male K-pop idol models has notably expanded in the beauty industry. While cosmetics advertising previously centered on female actors and female idols, male idols are now generating stronger viral reach and purchase conversion effects in global markets. Their campaigns show a pattern of quickly translating social media buzz and increased search volume into cross-border e-commerce and local sales.
"Collaborating with K-pop stars who have high recognition worldwide plays an important role not only in improving brand awareness but also in expanding overseas sales," a beauty industry official said. "Model selection has now become a core pillar of brands' global strategies."
