[Distribution Hot People] "Fermented Wine with Glacier Flower Extract... 1.5 Years of Development"

Insook Kim, Head of Planning Team, LF Cosmetic Division
Rare Swiss Imported Ingredients
No Animal Testing or Mass Production
Certified in France and the UK

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] As issues such as fine dust and plastic waste in the oceans have emerged, 'vegan' has rapidly become a hot topic in the beauty industry. LF, a fashion company, celebrated the first anniversary of its first beauty business and premium vegan cosmetics brand 'Atte,' which prominently features veganism on all its products.

On the 3rd, we met with Kim Insook, Planning Team Leader of LF Cosmetics Division. Team Leader Kim said, "Vegan is the most evolved form of naturalism cosmetics, which was once a mega trend in the industry," adding, "Atte is not only conceptually naturalism but is completed with a 100% vegan recipe from ingredients to manufacturing, containers, and packaging."

The core ingredients of Atte are sourced from Switzerland and are all air-shipped directly. These are rare ingredients that can only be harvested once a year. Team Leader Kim said, "It was not easy to develop exclusive ingredients that are gentle yet functional," and "It took exactly one and a half years to develop the main ingredients until the launch in October last year." The development was conducted in collaboration with Mibel, a Swiss cosmetic ingredient research institute, through which they secured the exclusive ingredient 'Alpinus.'

Alpinus is a nutrient extracted by secondary fermentation of antioxidant flower yeast, which comes through the Alps glacier, in white wine. It contains seven essential vitamin Bs for skin aging care. Team Leader Kim emphasized, "The petals that come through the glaciers of the Alpine highlands undergo fermentation in Swiss white wine," adding, "Through this process, the high-function vitamin components are amplified 10 to 12 times, making it gentle yet highly functional."

Team Leader Kim said, "Domestic consumers are among the most sensitive in the world regarding the safety of cosmetic ingredients," and "They carefully check not only all cosmetic ingredients but also the origin of the extracted raw materials." Recently, as harmful environmental factors such as fine dust and plastic-polluted seas have increased, interest in sustainability and consumer standards have risen even further.

Atte has obtained vegan certification from both France's Yves and the UK's Vegan Society. To receive vegan certification, products must be produced only in manufacturing facilities that do not conduct animal testing during the ingredient sourcing and manufacturing process. Mass production to reduce manufacturing costs is also not practiced. Team Leader Kim emphasized, "We strictly adhere to the principle of small-scale production at about one-third the usual volume to maintain quality control."

Instead of environmentally harmful plastic, recyclable glass containers are used. Team Leader Kim said, "Plastic containers have a lower cost, but cosmetics can be absorbed into the container, and there is a concern about ingredient degradation, so we exclude them."

From the beginning, Atte has had a global outlook. In June, it made its debut in the Chinese market through 'Xiaohongshu,' known as the Chinese version of Instagram. Team Leader Kim stated, "We have taken a big step to grow Atte into a global premium vegan cosmetics brand," and "We plan to aggressively carry out marketing activities through influencers this year." The plan is to expand from China to the United States and Europe.

The growth of vegan cosmetics is steep. While the general cosmetics market stagnates at less than 1% annually, vegan cosmetics are growing at 6.3%. According to the U.S. market research firm Grand View Research, the global vegan cosmetics market is expected to grow to about 25 trillion won in five years.