How to import Korean skincare: resell existing brands or launch your own

To import Korean skincare, either buy finished products from a Korean brand or its authorized distributor and resell them, or have your own brand made by a Korean manufacturer. Either way, the goods need English labels, the right tariff code and a customs entry, and in the US a company must take legal responsibility for each product under MoCRA.

Two routes to selling Korean skincare

Route A is distribution: you import brands that already exist and sell them in your store, on marketplaces or to retailers. Route B is private label: a Korean manufacturer makes products under your brand, from its formula library or a custom formula. The paperwork at the border is similar. Control, margin and risk are not.

Route A: importing existing Korean brands

Authorized distribution or gray market

Authorized stock comes from the brand or its appointed distributor, often called a Korean cosmetics import company in your country. You get proper invoices, the documents a regulator or marketplace may ask for, and sometimes exclusive rights for a territory. Gray market stock (also spelled grey market) is genuine product bought from wholesalers or shops in Korea without the brand's permission.

Gray market is cheaper to start but carries real risks. Labels are often Korean only, the products were made for the Korean market, and nobody has taken US responsibility for them. If a US company has recorded the trademark with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), customs can detain gray market goods that differ physically and materially from the version authorized for the US.

English labels and the responsible person

All required label information must be in English, and if part of the label appears in another language, the required information must appear in that language too. Many importers apply an English sticker, but it has to carry everything a US label needs, including a US address, phone number or website for adverse event reports.

Under MoCRA, the responsible person is the manufacturer, packer or distributor whose name appears on the label. That company lists each product with the FDA within 120 days of first marketing it (unless a small business exemption applies), reports serious adverse events within 15 business days and keeps safety substantiation on file. The factory registers with the FDA and names a US agent. Agree in writing with the brand who does the listing, because putting your name on the sticker as distributor can make you the responsible person. Our guide to MoCRA registration walks through the filings.

What happens at the border

Cosmetics do not need FDA approval before import, except for color additives, but imported products must meet the same rules as those made in the US. The FDA can examine shipments at entry and refuse products that appear adulterated or misbranded. A refused shipment must be destroyed or exported under FDA and CBP supervision within 90 days. Among the most common reasons the FDA lists are color additive violations, prohibited or restricted ingredients and microbial contamination, and it publishes refusals monthly.

Claims cause trouble too. Korea lets approved functional cosmetics claim whitening, wrinkle improvement or relief of acne and hair loss. In the US, claims to change melanin production, treat acne or restore hair growth make a product a drug, and sunscreen is an over-the-counter drug, which is why many Korean sunscreens are not sold in the US.

Customs classification and duties

Most creams, serums and toners fall under HTS subheading 3304.99.50 (preparations for the care of the skin, other), whose general duty rate is free. Some neighbors differ: liquid or cream skin cleansers containing aromatic surface-active agents fall under 3401.30.10 at 4 percent, which is free for qualifying Korean goods under the United States Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). Your customs broker confirms the code for each product.

The base rate is not the whole bill. Additional tariffs on imports from most countries, Korea included, were introduced and changed several times in 2025 and 2026, so ask your broker for the total rate on the day you ship. Low-value parcels no longer escape duty either: CBP has suspended the $800 de minimis exemption for all countries indefinitely. Commercial shipments worth more than $2,500 need a formal entry and a customs bond, and every product must be marked with its country of origin, for example Made in Korea.

Marketplace brand gating

Amazon requires approval before you can sell in some categories and for some brands and products. Approval typically depends on proof of supply, such as purchase invoices from the brand or a distributor, and gray market stock often fails that check. Confirm your supply chain before you buy inventory for a marketplace.

Steps for Route A

1. Shortlist brands and ask each one who its authorized distributor is for your country.
2. Request the document pack: full ingredient list, safety data sheet, certificate of analysis, English label files and the factory's FDA registration number.
3. Agree in writing who is the responsible person and whose name goes on the label.
4. Review each product's claims, color additives and SPF status against US rules.
5. Appoint a licensed customs broker, confirm HTS codes and the total duty, and set up a bond for formal entries.
6. Ship, clear customs, apply compliant labels where needed and complete the product listings.
7. Apply for marketplace approvals with your invoices, then start selling.

Route B: launch your own K-beauty brand made in Korea

Private label means a Korean manufacturer produces skincare under your brand. You choose from a library of proven formulas or develop a custom one, pick the packaging, and own the brand and trademark. The same fast, competitive industry that explains why Korean skincare is so good works for foreign brands too. At KoreanOEM, custom formulas stay the client's, clients receive the full INCI list, and production runs in an ISO 22716 (GMP) certified, FDA registered factory in Korea.

The advantages mirror Route A's weaknesses. You control formula, texture, scent, packaging and claims; the margin runs from factory price to your retail price instead of sharing a distributor margin; and nobody else can sell your brand. The trade-off is a minimum run and more decisions. At KoreanOEM an essence starts from $2.40 per unit at 500 units and a cream from $3.10, and the written quote itemizes formula, packaging, decoration, tests, documents and freight.

You are the responsible person for your own brand, so the compliance steps above still apply, but the label, claims and documents are built for your market from the start. KoreanOEM also sells its own skincare in the United States, so it has been through US import and FDA MoCRA listing itself, and it prepares the documents for your market, such as the MoCRA listing and the EU CPNP notification file (an EU responsible person is still needed). Our export guide lists the requirements market by market.

Steps for Route B

1. Write a short brief: products, target market, retail price and the claims you want to make.
2. Get a written quote within one business day and lab samples in about two weeks.
3. Approve the samples, choose stock or custom packaging and approve the label files.
4. Pay the deposit; production runs with stability, challenge and patch tests planned in.
5. Pay the balance before shipment and ship by air (about 5 to 10 days) or sea (about 4 to 6 weeks).
6. Clear customs, complete your MoCRA listing unless exempt, and launch.

With a library formula and stock packaging, the whole path takes about 10 weeks from brief to delivery; a custom formula takes 12 to 16 weeks.

Which route fits your business?

Reselling suits a multi-brand store or retailer that can secure authorized supply and wants a wide shelf quickly. Private label suits a founder who wants a brand asset, steady margins and products no one else can list. Some do both: a store learns which categories sell and launches its own label there, and a brand stocks a few complementary Korean products.

How to sell Korean skincare products once they land is the same for both routes: your own website, marketplaces where you are approved, and wholesale to salons and boutiques. Browse the product types you could make under your own name.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• FDA: Cosmetics Importers
• FDA: Import Refusals
• FDA: Registration and Listing of Cosmetic Product Facilities and Products
• 21 U.S.C. 364c: Registration and product listing
• 21 U.S.C. 364a: Adverse events
• USITC: Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
• CBP: Trade Remedies
• CBP: CBP modernizes low-value shipment processing
• CBP: When is a Customs bond required
• 19 CFR 133.23: Restrictions on importation of gray market articles
• 19 CFR 134.11: Country of origin marking required
• MFDS: Functional cosmetics
• Amazon Seller Central: Categories and products that require approval