Covid-19 push for Korean products in India

An increasing number of Indians have spent their cash on Korean products during the pandemic owing to growing popularity of Korean dramas among the population.

The Korean market in India is gaining traction and many firms are planning on strategies to benefit from the positive sentiment.

According to Seo Youngdoo, CEO & Founder, Korikart, Noodles is one of the most sold items on the online shopping store for Korean multi-brand products, both in the pre and post-covid times. The company has seen a 200% growth in the sales for this category.

“In the pre-Covid period, we did not have many stock-keeping units in the skincare category, so the sales were not that great. We used to sell a lot of face mask sheets pre-covid. However, now we have a better product array and so the sales got boosted and improved visibly. We have seen a 299% growth in the beauty/skincare category.”

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the sales per day on Korikart were around Rs 7.5 lakh across categories but post the pandemic, it rose to Rs 13.5-14 lakh per day across categories.

Youngdoo says selling Indian products through korikart is definitely in the pipeline.

“There are many vendors who are showing interest in selling their products through our website and we are in talks with some already. We are speaking to them and trying to finalise the products. Some of the categories we are planning to have at korikart are healthy food, beauty and fashion from the Indian portfolio,” said Youngdoo.

Exports from South Korea in January and February were up by more than 10% as compared to the same period last year, before the Covid-19 crisis began, according to a recent report by Statista. At the time, Korean exports had long been struggling – and continued to do so for a good part of 2020. But demand was finally looking up by Q4. Exports hit K-Beauty products grew by 40%.

The consumption on Korean dramas on streaming platforms has increased during the pandemic with many Korean titles featuring on Netflix India’s top 10 trending list.

Doyoul Lee Managing Director, Innisfree India & General Manager, Amorepacific India has seen more than 100% growth in digital. “As you all already know, this pandemic has impacted the offline business. Before the Covid-induced lockdown, our main channel was our retail stores which occupied around 55% of sales contribution. Now offline business contribution from our company decreased to 30%. Instead of offline, digital business has grown rapidly.”

Amorepacific Corporation is a South Korean beauty and cosmetics conglomerate. The South Korean giant is witnessing 20% of sales from new digital platforms.

“We have different strategy for each brand. But our main strategy is focusing on digital market. And due to Pandemic situation, we will control the speed on offline business before go back to normalcy. Now we are discussing for collaborations with new digital platforms and Multi brand shops to meet more customers,” he adds.