South Korea’s premium aesthetic company, BestInnovation, has raised $17.5 million (KRW 23 billion) in seed funding. The round was led by Mirae Asset Venture Investment, with participation from Korea Investment Value Asset Management, Midas Asset, Murex Partners, Kolon Investment, Muirwoods Ventures, and Ulysses Capital.

Founded in 2019, BestInnovation is a health and beauty (H&B) company that distributes the skincare brand KOPHER and the health supplement brand ANDO both domestically and internationally. KOPHER has demonstrated rapid growth, with an 84% increase in sales in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. It has received a high customer rating of 4.8 out of 5 on its official online store, along with strong profitability and robust cash flow.

KOPHER positions itself as a premium aesthetic brand, offering a range of high-quality, high-performance products, including skincare, sun care, body care, and hair care. Leveraging its distinctive premium image, the brand targets the global beauty market as a masstige (a blend of mass-market and prestige) brand, appealing to affluent consumers aged 30 and above.

With this new funding, BestInnovation plans to ▲Expand into international markets, including Japan, the United States, the Middle East, and Indonesia ▲Launch new beauty devices ▲Establish a global beauty platform for video content ▲Redesign its products to attract younger consumers, including millennials and Gen Z.

The global video content beauty platform will integrate YouTube to drive traffic to the company’s e-commerce site, focusing on synergies between beauty content and commerce programs.

Mirae Asset Venture Investment commented, “Last year, mid-priced indie brands made significant contributions to the growth of K-beauty, achieving record-breaking export volumes. We look forward to seeing BestInnovation create a new success formula in the global premium market, building on its proven track record.”

Yoon-Seok Chae, CEO of BestInnovation, said, “Despite challenging market conditions, we have achieved remarkable results. We are committed to expanding our core beauty business, exploring new markets, and driving global growth. Our goal is to achieve $30 million in exports by 2025, enhance the K-beauty ecosystem, and significantly increase corporate value.”

In September 2023, KOPHER launched functional product lines, including whitening and lifting solutions, on Japan’s e-commerce platform Qoo10, where it secured the top spot in the beauty category. The brand later achieved the same ranking on Rakuten. In April 2023, KOPHER entered the North American market by launching on Amazon in the United States, further accelerating its global expansion.