The entrance of the Olive Better Gwanghwamun store in Seoul is seen Friday. Photo by Hyojoon Jeon / UPI
May 14 (Asia Today) — CJ Olive Young said its wellness curation platform Olive Better has attracted 1.8 million new members within 100 days of launch, underscoring growing global demand for South Korea’s expanding K-wellness market.
The company said Wednesday that foreign customers now account for nearly half of sales at some key Olive Better locations, signaling rising international interest beyond traditional K-beauty products.
Olive Better, launched Jan. 30, currently features about 560 brands and roughly 13,000 products, according to the company.
Foreign customer sales initially accounted for about 7% of revenue after launch but have recently climbed to nearly 50% at some stores.
Industry analysts say Olive Young is broadening its consumer base from cosmetics into health and wellness products as global consumers increasingly seek Korean lifestyle and wellness trends.
Wellness products reorganized by lifestyle use
Olive Better reorganizes health products based on consumption methods and wellness goals to improve accessibility for consumers.
The platform offers “wellness shots” designed for quick consumption as well as gummy-type health supplements sold individually, expanding product flexibility and customer choice.
As of late April, more than half of the top 30 best-selling products in stores came from those categories, the company said.
Olive Young added that smaller wellness brands are also expanding product lines after joining the platform, helping them broaden consumer reach within the growing market.
The retailer recently launched a new private-label wellness brand called “All the Better,” offering about 50 products at relatively affordable prices to lower barriers for first-time wellness consumers.
Expansion planned in major shopping districts
Olive Young said it plans to strengthen wellness-focused curation across both online and offline channels.
Its online platform will be redesigned to help consumers search products more easily by function and purpose, while offline expansion will focus on major commercial districts with heavy tourist and younger consumer traffic, including Myeong-dong and Seongsu in Seoul.
The company plans to open 10 additional wellness-focused stores within the year and is also reviewing plans for hybrid stores combining Olive Young and Olive Better concepts.
An Olive Young official said the company was applying operational experience built through K-beauty expansion to the wellness sector while confirming global growth potential.
“K-wellness competitiveness will continue to grow through discovery of emerging domestic brands and market innovation,” the official said.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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