According to data from Spate, the AI-powered consumer trend intelligence platform, the online popularity of Korean skincare across Google, Instagram and TikTok grew 390% between September 2023 and July 2026.
And Spate does not predict the momentum to slow down. Between August 2026 and April 2027, its predictive model forecasts another 65% increase. This translates to a monthly growth rate of around 6.5% vs. 4.8% for the previous period.
What makes this next phase interesting is that this online demand is increasingly being matched by offline infrastructure and distribution capability in the US.
Korean beauty players are investing in local logistics and fulfilment capabilities, while major US retailers are giving the category significantly more visibility. Ulta is expanding its K-Beauty offering, Sephora is partnering with Olive Young, and Olive Young itself is moving into the US with its first physical stores.
The barrier between discovering a Korean product on TikTok and actually testing and buying it is becoming smaller. The next stage of K-Beauty growth in the US may therefore be very different from the first one with a much stronger infrastructure to convert that awareness into sales at scale.
With Spate forecasting online interest to accelerate rather than plateau, that combination of social momentum, wider physical distribution and better local infrastructure could make the next few years even more significant for Korean beauty than the last three.
The question is not whether K-Beauty is a lasting phenomenon in the US, but how large a share of the market it can ultimately capture.
