In world’s No. 2 beauty market, Korean labels emerge as top winners
eBay Japan CEO Koo Ja-hyun (front row, fifth from left) poses with award recipients at the Mega Beauty Awards 2025, hosted by Qoo10 Japan at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo on Monday. (eBay Japan)
TOKYO — K-beauty’s rising clout took physical form in a chandelier-lit ballroom in Tokyo, where Korean beauty took home the gold at a beauty awards ceremony hosted by Qoo10 Japan, an e-commerce platform run by eBay Japan.
At its inaugural beauty event on Monday, themed “Glow Up!” and packed with over 500 industry insiders, K-beauty brands swept 87 percent of the 137 total prizes, including many of the top honors. A ceremony of this scale is a first for beauty brands in Japan — let alone one that puts K-beauty in the limelight.
“Since joining eBay in 2018, Qoo10 Japan has made beauty one of its core focus areas and achieved more than tenfold growth over the past seven years,” said Koo Ja-hyun, CEO of eBay Japan. “We’re confident that the awards, selected through a fair and credible process, will grow into a prestigious benchmark for the entire beauty sector.”
Among the 28,211 products reviewed, the grand prize went to Anua’s Retinol 0.3 Niacin Renewing Serum, followed by Skin&Lab’s Glutathione Ampoule Toner in second place, Fwee’s 3D Voluming Gloss in third and Medicube’s PDRN Pink Peptide Ampoule in fourth.
Other K-beauty brands recognized with category and special awards include Etude, Aestura, Banila Co, Torriden, Narka and Hince.
The company explained that winners were selected based on proprietary sales data, expert reviews from beauty professionals and influencers, and direct consumer input, including over 610,000 votes in an online poll.
Top honorees shared insights into their Japan market strategies during press conferences on Monday.
Anua, run by The Founders, puts Japanese consumer needs at the center of its strategy, according to Cho Min-jae, head of Japan operations at The Founders.
“We began by closely analyzing skin concerns specific to Japan, such as oil imbalance and adult acne,” Cho said. “Our goal is to provide products that align with the preferences of each retail channel’s customer base, and Qoo10 has become a key platform for launching new items.”
Medicube, run by APR, combines skincare with beauty devices to carve out a niche in Japan. “Japanese consumers are highly informed and often look for at-home solutions that deliver professional-level results,” explained Park Da-hee, head of marketing at APR Japan.
Fwee, a makeup brand under Benow, highlighted the brand’s commitment to cultural fit.
“For us, Japan isn’t ‘overseas,’ but an extension of our home market,” said CEO Kim Dae-yeong. “Our retail stores are built to deliver physical brand experiences, and our Tokyo office operates with the same level of autonomy and significance as our Seoul headquarters,” Kim said. Fwee currently runs six directly managed stores in Japan and plans to expand to 15 by the end of next year.
eBay Japan CEO Koo Ja-hyun speaks at the Mega Beauty Awards 2025, hosted by Qoo10 Japan at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo on Monday. (eBay Japan)
The Mega Beauty Awards reads as a long-term play within the broader context of Japan’s Korea-focused beauty industry, especially for a company that now counts over 26.5 million registered users and 800 million monthly page views.
One key perk of the awards is the post-event utility of the official winner’s emblem.
“Qoo10’s emblem is designed for broader promotional use, appearing on product packaging, retail shelves and advertising campaigns,” Kim Jae-don, chief marketing officer at eBay Japan noted. “For brands, this visual marker acts as a trust signal, enhancing both consumer confidence and brand recall.”
The awards program serves as the icing on the cake for Qoo10 Japan’s pivotal role in elevating K-beauty visibility through a suite of strategic initiatives, such as its signature discount event Megawari, exclusive launches via Mega Oshi, and weekly brand debuts through Mega Debut.
For instance, since launching in April, Mega Debut has helped 136 Korean brands break into the Japanese market, with average first-month sales reaching 50 million won (about $34,000). Meanwhile, Qoo10’s live commerce channel, Live Shopping, saw viewership quadruple in the third quarter, with one session drawing 700,000 viewers.
Intent on not letting the K-beauty wave pass it by, the platform has set its sights on achieving 20 percent annual growth.
“Our goals aren’t simply based on seller count,” Kim said. “We’re focused on growing the transaction volume tied to fresh entries, and as more brands make their debut, that number is only expected to climb.”
Korean beauty products are on display at the Mega Beauty Awards 2025, hosted by Qoo10 Japan at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo on Monday. (eBay Japan)
By No Kyung-min (minmin@heraldcorp.com)
AloJapan.com