From sheet masks to glass skin to BB creams to cushion compacts, K-beauty has brought countless innovations to the US. Now it’s about to get even easier to shop them thanks to K-Beauty World, launching today at Ulta Beauty in-store and online. Powered by Landing International and created by its CEO and Founder Sarah Chung Park, the retail platform is devoted to the discovery of K-Beauty brands, offering over 200 products spanning skincare and color cosmetics.

“We see K-Beauty World as a discovery platform that is part retail curation, part viral pop-up and part marketing experience,” Park says. “The umbrella theme is about making these K-beauty products accessible to all ages, skin tones and budgets, and that's the lens that we use when we're doing education, product selection, testing and marketing messaging.”

Though Ulta has carried many K-beauty brands before, K-Beauty World takes the concept to another level. “It’s a curation within the larger retail setting of Ulta,” Park says. “There are branded moments where it's actually branded K-Beauty World and all of the brands that are part of our curation and platform participate in these overarching marketing activations. I would call them a class within a larger school.”

Landing International has a long-standing relationship with Ulta, making them the perfect retail partner. “As the nation’s largest beauty retailer, we are proud to offer a differentiated assortment, across all categories and price points,” says Kaitlin Rinehart, Vice President of Merchandising, Ulta Beauty. “As we continue to expand our assortment and introduce new brands and products, we always want to ensure we are listening and delivering on guests’ wants and needs. The new brands from K-Beauty World deliver on our promises and more. They are innovative, effective and provide a sensorial experience for beauty lovers, which is a trend we are seeing across the beauty landscape. These viral brands have built a following on social and beyond, and we are excited to be the exclusive brick and mortar retailer of choice to bring these brands to life IRL and make them even more accessible in the US. Through this dynamic partnership, Ulta Beauty will establish itself as a key player in this fast-growing, trend-driven segment, catering to beauty enthusiasts seeking high-performance, results-oriented products.”

There have been immersive activations leading up to the launch, including a five-city tour, and the activations will continue after the opening because they will have new launches through the end of the year, including expanding into hair and body.

“For these immersive experiences, we tried to go where consumers haven't heard of K-beauty or interacted with K-beauty before,” Park says, such as Lollapalooza. “At South by Southwest, we were the first K-beauty activation. It's where consumers are experiencing cultural moments and bringing K-beauty into those settings. In addition, we are having activations all around Ulta launch doors, like K-beauty claw machines. We try to bring product in a fun format. We've also been known to incorporate music and movie themes and snacks and drinks. That's always been a favorite, when people are standing in line and we give out seaweed snacks and collagen jelly drinks. It's bringing parts of Korean culture, because I think it's hard to understand K-beauty without understanding the larger Korean cultural zeitgeist that's currently happening.”

Offering an inclusive and expansive product range is a cornerstone of K-Beauty World. “We tried to have a holistic assortment, focused on hydration all the way to the harder issues of elasticity and fine lines,” Park says. “We created an assortment that covers the spectrum of concerns. Also, we test on all ages and skin tones. That's very important not just for complexion products, but also for lipsticks and eye palettes. And we're bringing in mid to low price points so we're not alienating anyone.”

Another element of the launch is their 12-episode documentary that will be available on YouTube, starting next week. They brought eight Ulta Beauty influencers and two beauty editors to Korea for an immersive experience that included brand-related activities and cultural moments, including visiting the palace, and created a documentary series from it. “It's something that helps to educate consumers,” Park says. “Maybe people who aren't going to make it to Korea can use these influencers and editors as their proxy and experience it through them.”

K-Beauty World will offer eight brands at launch. “We talked about creating the Marvel Universe of K-beauty, so we needed each brand to have its own distinct characteristics,” Park says. “We have some favorites that never came to the US. Rom&nd, the color brand, is a great example. It's a makeup brand that's in every woman's purse in Korea. Brands like Mixsoon that have gone super viral on TikTok and have a huge fan base already, we wanted to bring that in stores. There's some discovery brands like Chasin’ Rabbits, where we felt they had interesting formats that we hadn't seen before. Sungboon Editor is one of our anti-aging offerings and they have, I would say, the best overnight collagen mask on the market. We tried to create a mix of cult favorites to rising stars and get all the viral moments. We wanted to check all the boxes of what consumers are discovering on TikTok.”

For Park and her team, the biggest challenge of launching K-Beauty World has been creating something that’s the first of its kind. “We truly are the first discovery platform of this sort, with accessibility and inclusivity and reaching different tones,” she says. “We haven't had a benchmark or something to point to as the model.”

After working in the K-beauty space in the US for over two decades, Park is thrilled to see how its popularity has exploded stateside. “The biggest surprise for me is how much love it's gotten,” she says. “Consumers of all ages are drawn to K-beauty. A lot of teens are because of price point and formats, but a lot of moms are into K-beauty because it's affordable and easy to use. Our dream has gotten bigger, and it's moved from kitschy products to a standard of product and formulation and packaging that we would like to bring to every US consumer.”

Park aims to educate people that K-beauty offers something for everyone, of all ethnic backgrounds and skin types. K-beauty’s focus on hydration and brightening benefits all. When they soon bring hair care and body care to the US, she’s looking forward to consumers enjoying those categories as well. “There are a lot of innovations and patented technologies that we'll be bringing stateside,” she says. “There's always something new and interesting coming from Korea. At the end of the day, it's about bringing little joys to consumers, so that's something that I do enjoy about K-Beauty World specifically, but in the industry in general.”

Ultimately, the goal is for K-Beauty World to introduce the best of the country’s beauty to a new and existing audience. “We hope that K-Beauty World will be a brand that consumers will grow to trust,” Park says. “There are so many K-beauty brands out there that we want to make sure that we're the ones bringing the best quality and the best innovation to market. That’s our vision for K-Beauty World.”