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President Trump sent a letter to South Korea last week threatening to levy a tariff of 25% on Korean products imported to the United States starting on August 1 unless the two countries arrive at a trade deal. More than 3% of all U.S. imports come from Korea, including cars and electronics. For some consumers, though, the more pressing question is how these tariffs are going to impact their skincare regimen. Korea has among the most advanced and innovative beauty sectors in the world, exporting $10.2 billion in makeup and skincare products globally. Korean brands helped invent BB creams, which combine hydration with foundation; lightweight sunscreens that don’t leave any residue; and treatments that help you achieve “glass skin,” a complexion so luminous it looks like its made of glass. Some of the hottest beauty brands in the U.S. are Korean, including Sulwhasoo, Laneige, Innisfree, and Dr.Jart+. So consumers are understandably alarmed about what will happen if the tariffs kick in. When Trump first threatened tariffs on South Korea in April, CBS reported that some Americans were panic-buying K-beauty products. But experts believe we don’t need to go into a full-blown panic just yet. Sarah Jindal, a beauty analyst at Mintel who has studied the Korean beauty market for years, says beauty brands have high margins, which means they should be able to absorb some of the price increases from tariffs. Moreover, since Korean beauty brands are often cheaper than comparable U.S. brands, even if prices do increase, the products are likely to remain affordable. (For instance, an Innisfree sheet mask costs $2.50; SK-II’s sheet masks are $15. Laneige’s hyaluronic moisturizer costs $38; Dr. Barbara Sturm’s costs $110.) “K-beauty products are known for having high-quality, effective ingredients at a very good price,” says Jindal. “I believe they will be very resilient to the tariffs.” Visitors enter the KINTEX exhibition hall for the 2023 K-Beauty Expo in Goyang City, South Korea. [Photo: Chris Jung/NurPhoto/Getty Images] How Korea Became The Worlds Beauty Lab It’s no accident that Korean beauty has become world famous, says Jennifer Carlsson, a beauty brand expert and founder of Mintoiro, a beauty consulting firm. “In Korea, there’s a very high standard for beauty, and how you look can impact your opportunities in work and life,” she says, pointing out that facial surgeries are very common in the country. “People spend a lot of time and money taking care of their skin because it has a material impact on their outcomes.” Some surveys suggest that Koreans spend the most per capita on beauty than any other country, at $493 per year. As a result, there are hundreds of brands competing to create effective new products. There’s a thriving landscape of chemists and innovation labs that supply brands, and there are many local factories that produce the products. “The sophistication of these Korean factories exceeds the factories in China or the U.S.,” says Jindal. “The rest of the world just doesn’t have their technology.” Carlsson, who has a database of 20,000 global beauty brands, says Korean consumers have an appetite for newness, so beauty brands are always popping up. They tend to be creative not just with their formulations but also with their beautiful packaging and marketing. Given how the South Korean market is relatively small, with a population of just over 50 million, successful brands are eager to enter international markets to keep growing. Korean brands have courted many Asian countries, including China and Singapore, as well as Europe. But according to Jindal, the U.S. is their holy grail. “It’s a lot of work breaking into different European countries,” says Jindal. “But the U.S. has a very large, wealthy population that loves beauty. Brands that break into the U.S. market will see immediate growth.” This is why K-beauty brands have spent the past decade making a concerted effort to reach U.S. consumers by targeting them on TikTok and Instagram and vying to get into retailers like Ulta and Sephora. Now, even as tariffs loom on the horizon, Jindal says it’s unlikely these brands will stop trying to reach Americans. “This is just too lucrative a market for them,” she says. A wall of Korean skincare products in San Francisco [Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images] Tariff Stress Korean brands that export products to the U.S. are concerned about tariffs. But unlike manufacturers of cars and electronics, beauty brands tend to have more wiggle room in adjusting their pricing. According to Carlsson, manufacturing costs typically make up only 10% of the price of a beauty product. A full 50% to 70% goes to the retailer, while the rest goes to packaging, shipping, and advertising. This means that brands may be able to absorb some of the tariffs, rather than passing them on to consumers Jindal points out that part of K-beauty’s appeal is how affordable it is. In Korea, there is intense competition among beauty brands, which has driven down prices. To maintain the quality of their products, Korean brands have found ways to manufacture more efficiently and at scale. Jindal believes that K-beauty brands might even be able to grow their market share in the U.S. if there is a period of economic instability here. While overall inflation in the U.S. has remained relatively tame so far, economists warn that prices are beginning to rise. This is partly because companies are raising their prices as they cope with tariffs. In this environment, consumers are likely to “trade down” on their beauty products. “For luxury beauty fans, this might mean buying more K-beauty, since they can often get similar results for less money,” says Jindal. Still, the broader feeling of economic uncertainty could have an impact on the beauty industry as a whole, particularly if consumers feel the sting of inflation. “Brands aren’t likely to take risks on new, innovative products,” Jindal says. “They’re more likely to focus on tried-and-true products that they know will sell. So this means we’re probably going to see less creativity and innovation overall.” This is likely to be true for K-beauty brands, as well. So while there’s a good chance we’ll still have access to affordable Korean beauty over the next few months and years, we’re probably not going to see as many exciting new innovations.
Category:
E-Commerce
When I entered the workforce, we sent documents by fax. Everyone had a landline. If you needed to do research, you went to the librarywith actual books. Today, many of my younger colleagues would be unfamiliar with these relics of office life. Gen Z, the newest generation in the workforce, grew up with smartphones in their hands. Theyre accustomed to instant information, digital communication, and a world shaped by remote work, flexibility, and purpose-driven careers. Meaningful diversity isnt just an aspiration for them; its an expectation. But Gen Z is also anxious. Studies show theyre more pessimistic about their futures than any other generation. The rise of AI only heightens that anxiety, especially as automated tools increasingly take over entry-level tasks like research, scheduling, and document review. The onus is on leaders to bridge the gap between the strengths Gen Z brings and the foundational skills they need to build. Here are a few strategies for harnessing Gen Zs digital expertise while supporting their long-term career growth. Let them lead digital initiatives At my company, we promote an automation-first mindset. Employees are encouraged to carve out time to discover new tools and integrate them into their workflows. While optimizing systems might seem like a management responsibility, theres no reason to exclude young employees from this process. In fact, theyre ideal candidates to evaluate and experiment with emerging tech tools. For starters, theyre digital natives. Some studies suggest Gen Z employees are up to 43% more productive when using collaborative digital tools compared to more traditional communication forms like email. Even more compelling: giving entry-level employees access to AI tools yields a higher return on investment. Research from the MIT Sloan School of Management found that new and lower-skilled workers see the biggest productivity gains from working with AI. This approach doesnt just build future-ready skillsit lifts performance across the organization. Invite them to shape your brand story Gen Z employees are natural content creators. For better or worse, many of them move through the world already thinking in grids, captions, and potential for virality. Professionally, they tend to see themselves less as loyal to a single company and more as evolving personal brands. That instinctive sense of branding can be a major asset for companies, especially when it comes to creating engaging content. This is the generation that reimagined the résumé as a short-form video. And in many cases, that makes perfect sense. Wouldnt a viral TikTok showcase your skills as a social media manager better than a bulleted list of job experiences? Companies should be tapping into this native fluency and involving Gen Z employees in content creation, not as an afterthought, but as first-line collaborators. At my company, newer employees are deeply involved in the brainstorming process for social media initiatives. Even if senior team members shape the execution, some of our most successful campaigns have started with their ideas. Make mentorship a two-way street While AI and automation are eliminating much of the busywork from entry-level roles, they can’t replace the value of human mentorship, especially when it comes to developing soft skills. In an increasingly remote, digital-first work environment, those informal mentor relationships are at risk of fading. Its up to leaders to ensure they dont. These relationships dont have to be one-way. Peer mentorship can be a two-way dialogue that benefits both parties. More experienced employees can offer guidance on communication, conflict resolution, and navigating workplace dynamicsskills that arent easily taught online. For example, how do you approach a colleague about a recurring conflict without harming your work relationship? Anyone whos worked in a team long enough knows: things run more smoothly when personal tensions are low. At the same time, Gen Z workers can bring their older colleagues up to speed on emerging tools, platforms, and digital shortcuts. These symbiotic teaching relationships are especially important in the age of AI: executives estimate that up to 40% of their workforce will need to be reskilled over the next three yearsand not just Gen Z. In the end, fostering a culture of shared learning across roles and generations benefits the growth and future-readiness of individuals and teams alike.
Category:
E-Commerce
To help American visitors feel more welcome in Canada at time when relations are strained, one local tourism office is playing Canada nice. In a 30-second spot, a tourist shown checking in at a hotel front desk tells the receptionist he doesn’t speak French and sheepishly admits, “I’m American.” For a split second, a close-up shot of the receptionist clicking a red button underneath the desk might make viewers wonder if she’s calling security, given the state of U.S.-Canada relations. But no, she’s simply opening the front desk countertop so she can go and give the man a friendly embrace. “Come hug it out in Eastern Townships” is the ad’s closing tagline. Tourism Eastern Townships is a tourism office for a region in Quebec that’s an hour’s drive from Montreal, and the region is especially reliant on U.S. visitors since it borders Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports and calls for making Canada a state, though, haven’t been good for business. Travel from the U.S. to Canada by automobile is down by 10.4%, according to data from Statistics Canada, the Canadian government’s statistical office, meaning the supply of U.S. visitors to the region that it once could count on for reliable day or weekend trips is drying up. “Americans were actually, literally calling our hotels and attractions asking, Am I still welcome? Are people going to be nice to us if we come? Are we going to be served in English?” Tourism Eastern Townships director of visitor services Catherine Carignan-Lavasseur told the Canadian news network CTV News. Those calls from Americans “sparked a red flag,” according to Carignan-Lavasseur, since U.S. tourists represent 6% of visitors to the region. The ad was meant to welcome them back. “The ad is a warm, humorous 30-second ad, but its also truly an invitation,” she said. Trump’s antagonistic stance toward Canada has inspired a defensive “elbows up” response that’s shown up in Canadian consumer brand marketing and political messaging, but it goes against the stereotype of Canadians being unusually nice. While defensiveness and defiance might work well in politics, trade wars, and dealing with Trump, it’s bad for tourism, so Tourism Eastern Townships is trying an opposite approach. For Americans considering a trip to Eastern Townships, the tourism office’s hugging ad arrives like a generous helping of warm Canadian maple syrup or a surprise Justin Bieber album at the end of a long week. While politics and borders divide us, a hug is universal. And by using an embrace to tell American tourists that they’re invited, the spot makes sure the message needs no translation. Visitors are welcome.
Category:
E-Commerce
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