“Cosmetics Go Vegan Too” … Shinsegae Centum City Filled with Vegan Beauty, Spread from Vegan Food to Beauty

The vegan trend is spreading beyond food to encompass beauty products as well. While vegan products were primarily consumed in the food sector before, now it is an era where cosmetics are also consumed as vegan.

According to the Korea Vegan Certification Institute, the domestic vegan cosmetic market size grew more than fourfold from 160 billion KRW in 2013 to 570 billion KRW in 2022 over nine years, and it is expected to approach 1 trillion KRW by 2025.

The global market size recorded 17 trillion KRW in 2020 and is projected to surpass 23 trillion KRW by 2025. In response, beauty brands emphasizing vegan as a core value are gradually expanding their businesses.

Shinsegae Centum City announced on the 4th that Hourglass, which pursues a "luxury vegan makeup brand," newly opened a store on the first floor of the department store on the 1st.

Founded in the United States in 2004, Hourglass is a brand that aims for "sustainable beauty" by making all ingredients vegan and banning animal testing. Shinsegae International has been the official importer and distributor in Korea since 2018.

Hourglass showed rapid growth with a 286% increase in sales of base and color makeup products in the third quarter of last year compared to the same period the previous year. It solidified its position by ranking third in the vegan cosmetics brand reputation survey conducted by the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute in January 2024.

Recently, its representative products such as the "Phantom Volumizing Glossy Balm" and "Vanish Foundation Stick" gained popularity through word of mouth, especially among beauty influencers.

To celebrate the opening, a generous special promotion is also prepared. For first-time purchases, customers receive 10,000 KRW, 20,000 KRW, or 30,000 KRW discounts when spending 150,000 KRW, 250,000 KRW, or 350,000 KRW respectively. Additionally, customers who purchase over 70,000 KRW or 250,000 KRW will receive full-size products of "Veil Mineral Primer Travel" and "Equilibrium Restoring Essence" respectively (limited to first-come, first-served basis).

Shinsegae Department Store’s beauty select shop, Chicor Centum City branch, is also expanding its vegan beauty product lineup. Currently, it carries more than 10 eco-friendly and vegan brands including Dear Dahlia, Hourglass, Urban Decay, and Dear Klairs. Chicor is increasing its "Green Beauty Zone," which exclusively handles vegan beauty products, across its nationwide branches and plans to introduce the Green Beauty Zone at the Centum City branch as well.

The eco-friendly cosmetics brand Lush, located on the third floor of the mall, has also strengthened its eco-friendly products as vegan. Following the egg-free policy, it removed egg ingredients from the hair treatment product "Sua Wen Hua" and received vegan certification. Lush’s core brand values include opposition to animal testing, ethical buying, 100% vegetarian, and 95% vegan.

Herb cosmetic brand belif on the first floor of the department store also strengthened its vegan lineup this year by launching the "New Problem Solution Line" as vegan.

Regarding the vegan beauty craze, Kwon Tae-woo, head of the Overseas Miscellaneous Goods Team at Shinsegae Centum City, said, "As consumer awareness of value consumption and ethical consumption strengthens, demand for vegan cosmetics is increasing. The opening of Hourglass is expected to bring renewed attention to vegan beauty."

Shinsegae Department Store Centum City Branch.