Korea opens K-beauty stores in Milan, Stuttgart and Paris

The health ministry said Monday it will open K-beauty retail and experience stores in Milan, Stuttgart and Paris starting Sept. 25, part of a push to help small Korean cosmetics brands secure distribution in Europe.

European exports by small and mid-sized cosmetics companies reached $1.26 billion in the first half of 2026, up 62.4 percent from $770 million a year earlier, the ministry said.

The three openings follow a staged model used elsewhere: pop-up stores test whether a new market will respond, countries where demand is confirmed get a permanent flagship for local sales and retail partnerships, and major export markets get a hub that adds product certification and buyer connections.

Milan hosted the first, a pop-up for the brand Gop-da that ran from Sept. 25 to 27 during Milan Fashion Week, giving small Korean cosmetics makers a read on consumer response and a chance to hold export talks with buyers.

Stuttgart gets a permanent store on Sept. 28. The NEMO Store x K-BEAUTY ON opens in Germany, following a pop-up there last year, to let Korean companies accumulate local sales records and connect with business-to-business distributors.

The Paris flagship hub, mmm or Maison des Mille Muses, opens Sept. 30. It pairs K-beauty products with beauty technology including AI-based personal color and skin diagnostics, and offers consulting on CPNP, the European Commission portal through which cosmetics must be notified before they go on sale in the EU, along with introductions to local buyers.

Seong Chang-hyun, director general of the ministry's health industry policy bureau, said the expansion should help smaller cosmetics companies that have strong products but struggle to build their own overseas distribution.

"We expect this expansion of European experience and sales stores to be of practical help to small and mid-sized cosmetics companies that have excellent products but face difficulties securing their own overseas distribution networks," Seong said.

The ministry said it plans to extend the program to the United States, Vietnam, Chile, Indonesia, Morocco and Singapore.