[Beautynury] AI Emerges as a New Growth Engine for the Beauty Industry: Success Hinges on How It’s Used

This article is originally posted by 김민혜 기자(Kim Min-hye) on Beautynury's May 29, 2025 Article. To read the full feature, please visit the link below:

The K-beauty industry is accelerating its shift toward AI-driven operational automation, spanning everything from product planning to distribution. Experts agree that an organization’s ability to effectively leverage generative AI is now a key determinant of competitiveness.

MeasureCommerce, the company behind beauty trend analysis platform Trendier, held its “AI Bootcamp (Global Big Sale Strategy 2025)” on the 28th at the Textile Center Event Hall in Gangnam, Seoul. The event combined hands-on training with strategic insights, offering participants practical guidance on applying generative AI tools such as GPT to beauty industry workflows, alongside discussions on global sales strategies and emerging trends.

Transitioning to an “AI Factory”

Opening the keynote session, Kei Chun, CEO of MeasureCommerce, stated, “AI will not destroy our businesses.” He continued, “Rather, organizations that adopt AI early will replace those that do not,” underscoring the urgency of structural transformation across the industry.

According to Chun, the beauty industry is currently at one of the most significant technological inflection points in history. AI is reshaping existing workflows and redefining competition, giving rise to what he described as a new operational unit: the “AI factory.”

AI is no longer limited to simple automation. It is now capable of handling tasks previously impossible for humans to complete at scale, including market research, product planning, product detail page creation, video ad production, and multilingual customer support. Processes that once took weeks can now be completed within a single day.

“Having a cosmetics factory alone is no longer sufficient,” Chun warned. “If a company does not become an AI-driven organization within the next 12 months, there is a very high likelihood it will be replaced within 36 months by competitors fully equipped with AI.”

He emphasized that the two most critical preparations for beauty companies are well-structured data and rapid execution capability, noting that even the most advanced AI systems will generate unrealistic outputs without properly organized data.

Prompts Shape the Answers

One of the key messages from the bootcamp was that the most important factor in AI utilization is user design capability. During the practical session led by analyst Jisun Lucie Shin and manager Song Yeon Shim, participants learned essential principles for applying GPT and other generative AI tools to real-world tasks.

Many common errors in AI usage stem from vague or poorly structured prompts. Because GPT interprets instructions literally, unclear questions often lead to inaccurate or irrelevant outputs. The speakers emphasized the importance of clearly defining data structures, comparison criteria, and analytical objectives.

For analyses involving comparisons—such as “year-over-year changes in review keywords”—breaking the task into step-by-step prompts was shown to be far more effective.

Concerns around GPT’s reliability were also addressed. The presenters cautioned against blindly trusting AI-generated results, recommending that users request explanations, logic, and confidence scores alongside outputs. Prompts such as “Provide a confidence score for this result” or “Explain which data sources were used to derive this conclusion” can help filter out inaccuracies or exaggerated responses.

File formats and input methods also affect accuracy. Simple formats such as Excel, images, or Word files perform better than complex PDFs. When uploading multiple files, clearly stating each file’s purpose and data attributes helps prevent confusion. In short, not only what is shown to AI, but how it is presented significantly impacts the outcome—reinforcing that AI effectiveness ultimately depends on user design.

Practical GPT Applications from Industry Professionals

Organizations with strong execution capabilities view AI as more than just an automation tool. Choi Yeon Soo, CEO of Brand to Strategy, shared real-world case studies demonstrating how GPT can be combined with Trendier data across key K-beauty roles, including marketing, planning, and merchandising.

Marketers can connect thumbnail image changes with sales performance to identify effective messaging points, while brand managers can translate global consumer needs directly into product planning. Merchandisers can design prompts that compare review characteristics and brand performance across distribution channels.

Examples included analyzing thumbnail imagery from brands such as Banila Co and Innisfree and correlating them with sales trends, or using Amazon ingredient data to identify emerging sunscreen trends.

“GPT provides tangible advantages for practitioners seeking data-driven planning and decision-making environments,” Choi noted, highlighting its potential beyond repetitive task automation.

Five Data-Driven K-Beauty Trends

As GPT becomes embedded in daily operations, the way beauty trends are analyzed is also evolving. Rather than simply listing trends, brands are increasingly relying on keyword analysis grounded in real demand data, directly influencing strategy.

Based on Trendier data, Jisun Lucie Shin identified five K-beauty trends currently gaining global traction:

• Acne soothing
• Slow-aging 3.0
• Category hacking
• “Feel-good” makeup
• “Makeup that applies well”

These are not fleeting fads, she explained, but demand-backed keywords actively shaping product strategies.

Acne-soothing formulas continue to perform well by addressing persistent Gen Z skin concerns, while slow-aging products are expanding the market through ingredients such as spicules and PDRN. The “category hacking” trend—using one product for multiple purposes—is driving growth in dual-function products, while the preference for natural, luminous makeup finishes is spreading beyond Korea into Japan and China.

What Global Buyers Look for First: Demand Data

Finally, insights were shared on how global buyers evaluate Korean beauty brands. According to Angela Gutierrez, Manager at Chalhoub Group, the first factor buyers assess is how well a product connects with real consumer demand.

She identified product–market fit, long-term vision, and scalability as essential requirements for entering the Middle Eastern market, noting the region’s strong offline retail structure and the need for culturally differentiated strategies. A single, uniform approach, she cautioned, is insufficient.