K-Beauty Steps Up Push into Latin America; Joint Public-Private Support Delegation to Be Sent Next Year

[Financial News] The government will step up its push into the Latin American market in earnest by sending a joint public-private cosmetics market-entry support delegation to Brazil sometime next February.
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) on the 9th, the ministry plans to send a joint public-private cosmetics market-entry support delegation to Brazil from February 24 to 26 next year.
Brazil is the world’s seventh-most populous country and has the world’s third-largest cosmetics market. South Korea’s cosmetics exports to Brazil have increased about sixfold over the past three years.
The delegation’s dispatch is intended to expand the regulatory cooperation between the two countries pursued so far into practical support for businesses.
Following the Korea–Brazil summit last February, the MFDS signed an MOU with Brazil’s Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) on “regulatory cooperation in the field of health-related products.” It also held the first Korea–Brazil bilateral meeting of the Global Cosmetics Regulatory Authorities Council (GCORAS) last September.
On the first day of the mission, the delegation will operate a K-beauty pop-up store. It will showcase the excellence of Korean cosmetics to local consumers and offer opportunities for new business deals through meetings between local buyers and participating Korean companies.
The delegation will then hold a K-beauty forum to share trends in Brazil’s cosmetics market, examples of K-beauty imports and distribution, and cases of growth in the local market.
The following day, the 25th, the MFDS and ANVISA plan to discuss ways to remove barriers to Korean companies’ exports to Brazil and measures for regulatory cooperation in the cosmetics sector at a bilateral meeting between agency heads.
On the 26th, the delegation will hold a joint public-private Korea–Brazil cosmetics regulatory roundtable with direct participation from ANVISA regulators. It will explain the rules and procedures for cosmetics exports to Brazil and help Korean companies ask questions directly and receive answers about regulatory difficulties they encounter on the ground.
The MFDS is recruiting participating companies through the Korea Cosmetic Association website until the 23rd.
An MFDS official said, “We plan to expand regulatory cooperation among overseas regulatory authorities to remove barriers to overseas expansion for Korean companies, and support them in gaining an early lead in Latin America, using Brazil as a bridgehead.” 

[email protected] Kim Seo-yeon Reporter