A gift set made of Sulwhasoo skin care lotions mixed with herb extractions, the first cosmetics product to log over 1 trillion won in sales for its maker AmorePacific.(Photo: AmorePacific)

AmorePacific released the Yunjo Essence Limited Edition on the occasion of the Year of Canine, with a “sensually gold-colored dog” to lead sales of its holistic beauty brand, the Sulwhasoo.

Yunjo Essence Limited Edition is a global best-selling product for the giant cosmetics maker, which has maintained its global position for some two decades since it first hit the market. The cosmetics product has been said to blaze the trail for Asian herbs in cosmetics on the world stage. It’s used as a foundation when applied to the face before other cosmetics are used.

The Jaeumdan is a fusion of unique Asian herb extractions that utilize the heritage of the Sulwhasoo brand when mixed with Yunjo Essence. It’s commonly used as a treatment for dry skin. Jaeumdan’s five key Oriental herb ingredients were selected from some 3,000 medicinal extractions. The key herb extractions include medicinal contents that help make facial skin appear full of vitality and balance.

A new serum that hydrates and balances skin for a healthy and glowing look is 180% more concentrated than before. 

“The new JAUM Balancing Complex provides comprehensive skin care for beautiful balance,” according to the company. “For dried skin caused by aging, the complex nourishes, rejuvenates, and firms the appearance of the complexion for a healthier glowing skin.”

The cosmetics item became the first AmorePacific product to log some 1 trillion won in sales in January 2004.

It won some 40 awards and other accolades from 19 media organizations in 40 countries it is sold in, recognizing its excellence as a cosmetic product. Some awards include: Elle K Beauty Iconic Product Award in 2016, the Cosmo Beauty Award for being Top Boosting Essence in 2016, and the Styler Best Brand Award in the Oriental Medicinal Boosting Essence Sector in 2017.

Yunjo Essence Limited Edition introduced for 2018 shows its artistic side on its package design. Dogs are known as faithful animal, “safeguarding the happiness in a home,” the company said. 

AmorePacific introduced five different gift packages of Sulwhasoo that consist of the best sellers of the famous cosmetics product, such as the Fairytale and Jaeumsang.

AmorePacific’s story started in a kitchen eight decades ago. 

Yun Dok-Jeong, an ambitious mother of six, began producing camellia oils as a hair treatment for stylish Korean women. Sourcing the best camellias from peddlers who would travel the Korean peninsula delivering goods, Yun would spend hours extracting the flowers’ oil and set up her first shop in the village of Gaesong, a city that is now part of North Korea.

At a young age her second son Suh Sung-Whan learned the tricks of the trade, biking a round trip of 88 miles to collect bottles and labels and later concocting face creams beside his mother. Suh would then go on to take over the business in 1945, a vulnerable time in Korea’s turbulent history: World War II had just ended and with the subsequent demise of Japan’s colonial rule, the Korean War would soon rear its ugly head.

Keeping his eye on the possibilities, Suh initially named the company “Taepyeongyang,” which in English translates to the Pacific Ocean, a name that came from Suh’s early ambitions to take the company beyond the Pacific and create a strong foothold overseas. But AmorePacific’s No. 1 market outside Korea is China.

Though the country accounted for just under 10% of the company’s sales last year, its annual growth rate stood at nearly 40%. This year AmorePacific reported a 72% hike in net profit for the first quarter due largely in part to the demand of Chinese consumers. And while from May through June shares plunged by up to 10% due to the MERS outbreak that gripped the country and kept lucrative Chinese tourists away, the second quarter showed a 24% increase in sales and a 43% jump in net profit from the same time a year ago.

What’s fueling the exploding demand  Along with the rising purchasing power of its consumers, China, in recent years has developed a hearty appetite for the Hallyu Wave, a phenomenon of South Korean pop culture that has swept Asia since the early 2000s. Climbing exports of K-pop (popular music) and K-dramas have given way to new marketing strategies for companies seeking to capitalize on the craze. Korea’s beauty industry has been at the forefront of the trend, employing Hallyu celebrity endorsements and product placements in the country’s drama series.