SMEs ministry picks 188 consumer products to lead exports

The SMEs ministry said Wednesday it selected 188 consumer products as this year's K-export strategic items, drawn from a field of 983 companies, and launched a network for the selected firms to share overseas expansion experience.

The products — 70 in beauty, 38 in fashion, 40 in lifestyle and 40 in food — were named at a launch event at the Startup Venture Campus Seoul in the Hongdae district. They will be displayed and available to try at a pop-up store on the venue's first floor through Oct. 31.

Global distribution specialists and a panel of foreign consumers assessed competitiveness and product quality. Selection certificates were presented to four companies at the event.

Selected companies will get access to the distribution infrastructure and networks of large Korean retailers — Olive Young and Shinsegae Department Store in beauty, Musinsa in fashion, Gmarket in lifestyle and Lotte Mart in food — for placement in overseas channels, online and offline promotional events and local influencer marketing. They will also receive preferential treatment in government export programs covering export vouchers, overseas certification and participation in trade shows and buyer meetings.

LifeWith Corporation, a beauty company selling carbonated mask packs made with ingredients such as Indian holy basil, was selected in 2024 and saw exports rise to about $3.107 million in 2025 from about $393,000 in 2023. Phoenix, a women's clothing company founded in 2003 by a Dongdaemun designer and chosen in 2025, lifted exports to about $241,000 from $24,000, helped by a Musinsa Japan promotional event and pop-up stores in Tokyo and Osaka.

"Small and medium-sized enterprise exports are continuing to set all-time highs, and at the center of that are K-consumer goods, led by K-beauty," said Park Yong-soon, head of the ministry's small business policy office.

The council launched alongside the event, the K-Brand Leaders Network, brings together companies selected this year and in previous rounds for networking and the exchange of overseas know-how. A separate buyer consultation session is planned for the K-Brand GLOW WEEK event in late November.

"We will keep listening to voices from the field so that the selected products can grow into national K-brand items that lead our country's exports in global markets, and lead to vitality across the small business ecosystem overall," Park said.

SME exports totaled $33.4 billion in the third quarter, up 8.8 percent from a year earlier and the highest ever for a third quarter, while the January-September total of $96.5 billion was also a record, up 9.5 percent. Cosmetics exports reached $2.79 billion in the third quarter, up 28.6 percent, and $7.65 billion for the nine months, up 26.4 percent, both records.