The UK: K-Beauty's Next Chapter — Why Now, and Why Dear Klairs & By Wishtrend

For Business Partners & Buyers | K-Beauty UK Market Entry Insight 2026

TL;DR — 3 Things Every Buyer Should Know

• The UK K-beauty market is projected to grow from USD 584 million (2023) to USD 1.15 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 7.81% — one of the fastest-growing beauty segments in Europe.
• TikTok Shop has become the UK's 4th largest beauty retailer, with K-beauty searches surging 125% in H2 2025 and beauty GMV growing 60% YoY — making the UK the most socially-driven K-beauty market in Europe.
• Dear Klairs and By Wishtrend have been building UK brand equity since 2015, with Vogue UK features, Sephora placement, and a distribution network spanning 20+ European retailers — the proven partners for UK market expansion.

Key Takeaways:

• UK K-beauty market CAGR of 7.81% through 2032 (Credence Research)
• TikTok Shop: UK's 4th largest beauty retailer, #kbeauty the 3rd most-used beauty hashtag in the UK
• Boots officially named K-beauty a top trend in its 2025 Annual Trends Report
• PureSeoul, founded in 2019, currently operates 15 UK stores and is planning to double its current UK store portfolio in 2026 — a clear signal of K-beauty's mainstreaming
• CPNP/PIF certification complete — regulatory risk minimized from day one

1. The UK Beauty Market — Meeting Europe's Most Sophisticated Consumers

The UK isn't simply a "big market." It's where consumers read ingredient lists, verify brand stories, and demand sustainability — a market that rewards authentic, science-backed brands.

① Steady, Structural Growth

The UK skincare market is projected to grow from USD 4.8 billion in 2026 to USD 7.9 billion by 2035, at a CAGR of 5.7%. Consumer spending on health and beauty has grown for 60 consecutive months, rising 10.7% YoY in 2025 alone.

② Ingredient-Led Purchasing — K-Beauty's Natural Home

Ingredient-driven purchasing has become the dominant decision-making framework for UK consumers. Searches related to vitamin C, retinoids, hyaluronic acid, and probiotics are driving 40–50% of growth in the premium segment. UK consumers actively seek "affordable luxury" — high-quality formulations at accessible price points — which is precisely where K-beauty excels.

③ The Brexit Effect — A Barrier That Becomes a Moat

Post-Brexit, the UK operates under a separate regulatory framework from the EU, raising the barrier to entry for new brands. New import rules, UK-specific cosmetic safety requirements, and potential tariff implications mean higher operational costs and delayed launches for many brands. For Wish Company's partners, this hurdle is already cleared — products arrive in a ready-to-sell state.

④ Skincare Leads the Market

Skincare accounts for 33% of the total UK beauty market as of 2025, driven by heightened consumer interest in preventive routines and the proliferation of science-based formulations. 70–80% of skincare products sold in the UK are manufactured abroad — with Korea among the top production countries alongside France, Italy, and the US.

⑤ Three K-Beauty City Hubs: London · Manchester · Birmingham

Demand for dermocosmetic products is particularly strong in London, Manchester, and Birmingham. The K-beauty specialist retail ecosystem is rapidly expanding across all three cities. London's premium retail corridors and Manchester's emerging indie brand scene are the two most concentrated demand nodes.

2. The Growth of K-Beauty in the UK — A Game Changer Proven by Numbers

K-beauty in the UK has moved beyond "trend" into structural establishment as a mainstream category.

Korean cosmetics exports hit a record USD 11.4 billion globally in 2025 (+12.3% YoY), reaching 202 countries — up from 172. The UK sits at the heart of this European momentum.

3. Why K-Beauty Resonates So Strongly in the UK — 6 Core Drivers

① Boots Made It Official

Boots — the UK's largest health and beauty retailer — named K-beauty one of its highest-demand categories in its 2025 Annual Beauty Trends Report, alongside ashwagandha, AHA, and marine collagen. When the retailer, not the brand, leads the call — that's a structural signal.

② Ingredient Literacy at Its Deepest

The 25–34 age group now accounts for 28–32% of UK anti-ageing product purchases — up from 18–22% five years ago. Younger consumers are starting retinol, SPF, and peptide routines earlier than ever. This generation is K-beauty's core customer, and they're already searching for the ingredients that Dear Klairs and By Wishtrend are built around.

③ A Cultural Alignment with Preventive Skincare

UK consumers increasingly prioritize moisture and barrier repair over aggressive treatments — a philosophy that mirrors Korean skincare culture. The gentle, skin-first approach of Dear Klairs resonates naturally in a market where "skin health over makeup" is becoming the default mindset.

④ TikTok Shop — The UK's Most Powerful K-Beauty Engine 🆕

This is the UK's most distinctive structural advantage for K-beauty. TikTok Shop's 60% beauty growth in 2025 made it the UK's 4th largest beauty retailer. Searches for Korean skincare saw a 125% increase in the second half of 2025. The K-beauty average basket on TikTok Shop runs approximately 35% higher than the overall skincare average. Live shopping sessions grew 90% in 2025, with 6,000+ live sessions running daily in the UK. #kbeauty is the third most-used beauty hashtag in the UK on TikTok. For content-community-driven brands like Wish Company, there is no more favorable environment.

⑤ K-Culture Soft Power

K-pop and K-drama have seeded trends like "glass skin" internationally, driving a sustained surge in Korean skincare searches. The UK's MZ generation has already absorbed K-beauty as a lifestyle — the cultural groundwork is done.

⑥ The "Affordable Luxury" Sweet Spot

UK consumers remain value-conscious while demanding real results. K-beauty's combination of high-quality formulation, clinical data, and accessible pricing hits the sweet spot of what the UK market is looking for right now.

4. Key K-Beauty Distribution Channels & Shop List in the UK

Offline — Mass Touchpoints

• Boots — UK's largest H&B retailer. K-beauty brand Anua expanded from 120 stores (October 2024) to 650 stores (July 2025) in just 9 months — the benchmark success story for K-beauty mass-market entry in the UK.
• Superdrug — UK's 2nd largest H&B chain. A landmark partnership with PureSeoul introduced dedicated K-beauty zones to 30 high street stores, signaling Superdrug's commitment to K-beauty as a permanent category.

Premium & Selective Channels

• Sephora UK — Premium K-beauty selective distribution
• Selfridges — The epicenter of K-beauty pop-ups in the UK; flagship locations in London Oxford Street, Birmingham, and Manchester
• Space NK — Premium beauty specialty store targeting ingredient-literate consumers

K-Beauty Specialty Channels 🆕

• PURESEOUL — Founded in 2019, PureSeoul has evolved from a digital-first curiosity into a full-scale retail force, driven by community enthusiasm. Currently operating 15 UK stores with plans to double by end of 2026. Working directly with 70+ Korean brands, 35 of which are exclusive. The Carnaby Street flagship firmly establishes PURESEOUL as the UK's #1 K-Beauty retailer. By Wishtrend is among the brands carried in its curated lineup.
• Moida K-Beauty — Named after the Korean word meaning "to gather," Moida is a London-based K-beauty specialist run by a Korean team maintaining direct connections with Seoul. Operating stores on Charing Cross Road, Westfield London, and Manchester Arndale — with Battersea Power Station opening forthcoming.
• Skin Cupid — One of the UK's most-followed authorised retailers of Korean beauty, sourcing directly from Korea. With 954K TikTok followers and 19.3M likes, Skin Cupid has built one of the UK's most engaged K-beauty communities online. Both Klairs and By Wishtrend are carried in its brand lineup. A flagship store on London's Charing Cross Road anchors its omnichannel presence.

Online & E-Commerce Channels

• ASOS Beauty — UK's largest fashion and beauty e-commerce, core MZ channel
• TikTok Shop UK — UK's 4th largest beauty retailer; the K-beauty growth engine
• Notino UK — Central-Eastern Europe's largest beauty e-commerce platform, UK channel

💡 Buyer Insight: Boots and Superdrug for "mass penetration"; Sephora, Space NK, and Selfridges for "premium positioning"; PureSeoul, Moida, and Skin Cupid for "K-beauty specialist experience"; TikTok Shop and ASOS for "MZ digital discovery." This multi-layered channel ecosystem is what makes the UK market uniquely powerful.

5. Dear Klairs & By Wishtrend in the UK — A History Built Since 2015

The UK Relationship Started Early

Klairs made its official UK debut in July 2015 — among the earliest K-beauty brands to formally enter the market. The results came quickly: Vogue UK featured the Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop in its July 2016 "Ageless Style Issue" as one of the top 10 beauty products for ageless skin. That moment marked a turning point — K-beauty being recognized not as "Korean beauty" but simply as great beauty.

European Distribution Infrastructure

• Since entering Europe in 2016, distributed through 20+ major beauty retailers including Sephora UK, Douglas, and & Other Stories
• 400+ official store placements achieved within 7 years of European entry
• Now available in 80+ countries across 5,400+ on/offline touchpoints globally

UK-Specific Brand Presence

• Dear Klairs: Built deep trust with UK consumers around the Supple Preparation Toner and Midnight Blue Calming Cream. A landmark in organic UK growth through Vogue UK coverage and the UK beauty YouTube community.
• By Wishtrend: Consistently meeting UK consumers through K-beauty specialty channels including Skin Cupid and PureSeoul. The Matcha & Green Tea line has earned strong resonance with UK consumers seeking ingredient-forward formulations.

Latest B2B Activity
Cosmoprof Bologna, March 2026 — Meeting European buyers and partners at the world's largest beauty trade fair to secure new distribution channels and build brand awareness across the continent.

6. Why Partner with Dear Klairs & By Wishtrend Now — Verified USPs

The following USPs are drawn from Wish Company's official B2B wholesale guides.
🔗 7 Reasons Your K-Beauty Shop Must Stock Klairs (B2B Wholesale Guide)
🔗 7 Reasons to Stock By Wishtrend (B2B Guide)

① Category No.1 — Proven Sell-Through

Supple Preparation Unscented Toner: 8 million units. Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop: 4 million units. Midnight Blue Calming Cream: 2 million units. These aren't just sales figures — they're proof of inventory velocity that minimizes buyer risk. Wish Company holds multiple million-sellers that have ranked No.1 in their category at global retailers — a track record continually re-verified through 200+ global awards.

② Bestseller Equity Verified Across 70+ Countries

Wish Company products have established themselves as bestsellers across on/offline channels in over 70 countries. For UK buyers, that means you're not introducing an unknown — you're bringing a globally validated brand to consumers who may already know it from their feeds.

③ Regulatory Risk Minimized — Post-Brexit Ready

Post-Brexit, the UK operates under separate regulatory requirements from the EU. Wish Company has completed the necessary compliance processes, meaning UK partners receive products in a ready-to-sell state — no delays, no compliance costs passed on to buyers.

④ Ethical Consumption — Vegan & Cruelty-Free

All Wish Company brands have upheld a cruelty-free philosophy from day one, and do not export to markets requiring animal testing. In a UK market where ethical consumption is among the highest priorities in Europe, this alignment is a genuine commercial advantage.

⑤ A Clear Dual-Brand Portfolio — Every Customer, Covered

• Dear Klairs = Sensitive-skin expertise + minimalist formulas ("Simple but Enough") — natural fit for Boots, Space NK, and the K-beauty specialty tier
• By Wishtrend = Born from a 5-million-strong Wishtrend skincare community; making high-concentration actives accessible and hypoallergenic — natural fit for Sephora, TikTok Shop, and ingredient-literate consumers

Together, the two brands cover the full UK customer spectrum — from gentle barrier repair to high-performance actives.

⑥ Proven Growth Momentum

Both brands posted strong YoY revenue growth — Klairs +185% and By Wishtrend +67% — the result of strategies tailored to each market's specific consumer profile. Now is the optimal time to ride the curve.

⑦ TikTok Shop Synergy — Built for the UK's Fastest-Growing Channel

K-beauty brands are leading TikTok Shop's beauty growth through creator-driven tutorials that merge discovery and purchase. Wish Company engages over 10 million followers through Wishtrend TV and global content channels — giving UK partners access to a proven content engine that drives TikTok Shop conversion.

⑧ The K-Beauty Specialty Channel Ecosystem Advantage

The UK now has a thriving K-beauty specialty retail ecosystem — PureSeoul, Moida, Skin Cupid — where brands don't just sit on shelves but are actively curated, explained, and championed to highly engaged consumers. Both Klairs and By Wishtrend already have presence within this ecosystem, and these channels are growing fast.

7. Future Partnership with Wish Company — We're Looking for Partners to Grow Together 🤝

Beyond product supply, Wish Company pursues long-term, strategic collaboration with UK and European partners. We are actively seeking partners to build the UK market together through:

1) Seasonal & Campaign Collaboration

• Promotional collaborations including seasonal events and pop-ups (Selfridges, PureSeoul-style flagship activations)
• Joint K-beauty event planning and execution

2) Digital & Social Commerce Synergy

• TikTok Shop / Instagram collaborations targeting UK MZ consumers
• Local influencer seeding strategy packages — leveraging the UK's K-beauty creator ecosystem

3) Data-Driven Partnership

• Quarterly sell-through data sharing
• Reorder forecasting, priority access to new product launches, and partner incentive structures

🤝 A wide range of partnerships is possible — and Wish Company is actively seeking partners to build the UK market together.
Explore the brands: klairscosmetics.com · bywishtrend.com

Conclusion — The UK Is Not a "Test Market." It's the Heart of European K-Beauty.

The UK combines the EU's most mature beauty consumers, the most dynamic K-beauty specialty retail ecosystem in Europe, and TikTok Shop — a social commerce engine with no equivalent on the continent. Built on brand equity and operational capabilities established since 2015, Dear Klairs and By Wishtrend are the partners to build the UK together — and from the UK, the rest of Europe.

Sources: Credence Research, Grand View Research, Mordor Intelligence, Boots UK 2025 Beauty Trends Report, CosmeticsDesign Asia, Korea Herald, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), TikTok Newsroom, Retail Times, Wish Company B2B Guides (wishtrade.co.kr)