Korea’s number-one luxury beauty brand is looking to stand out in the U.S. marketplace. To do that, AmorePacific Corporation’s top-selling Sulwhasoo skin care brand revealed an improved version of its iconic Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream, based on a 50-year study of ginseng. Sulwhasoo is a ginseng expert as it is the star ingredient in all of its products and has even led them to trademark their own research term, Ginsenomics. Using the knowledge gained from Ginsenomics, the iconic Renewing Cream has been upgraded with two compounds found in the herb’s roots and flowers: Compound K, which aims to support collagen and hyaluronic acid synthesis, and Ginsenoside Re, which boosts the skin’s defense system against external factors and is six times more concentrated than the previous product. The newly upgraded best-seller, Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream EX, is the fourth generation of the cream since its first version was released in 2000. This year, Sulwhasoo also introduced a lighter version of the cream, Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream EX Light, which delivers the same benefits as the original counterpart but comes with a lighter texture and refreshing scent.

Sulwhasoo also unveiled its new concept of Image Antiaging, which is focused on identifying aging indictors, wrinkle-prone areas on the face, and evaluating a product’s effectiveness against those areas. Going beyond delivering functional anti-aging benefits, Sulwhasoo aimed to target these aging indicators in promoting more positive emotional responses to aging.

Mark Choo, Director of AmorePacific New York R&I Center and former Brand Science Manager of Sulwhasoo, presented the brand’s latest research, which looks at the cognitive and behavioral responses of participants’ responses to perceived aging after using the product. The company measured the brain waves of users during an eight-week clinical study, as they answered questions about their appearance and self-esteem. A majority showed positive brain activity after seeing progressive changes in the aging indicators. “The product has been clinically proven to present Image Anti-aging effects,” he said.

Sulwhasoo is currently available in 10 countries, where it has reported steady sales growth in each. The brand is continuing to raise its profile in the global beauty market and is aiming to become one of the world’s top seven cosmetics companies by 2020. It has already set records in Asia.

According to Brad Horowitz, President, “Sulwhasoo is currently the largest beauty brand in Korea and receives almost $1 billion in annual sales.”