©Sylvain Bachelot
French cosmetics cluster Cosmetic Valley has inked a partnership with South Korea’s Seoul government.
The partnership is intended to strengthen collaboration between French and Korean universities and support start-ups and small-sized businesses.
The partnership is the result of a mission carried out last May in South Korea with the support of the European Commission as part of the Global Cosmetics Cluster Europe project. Cosmetic Valley also signed partnerships with cosmetics association IBITA, a string of distributors and the Franco-Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The French cluster claims that Seoul is becoming an increasingly important player in beauty thanks to the K-Beauty phenomenon. South Korea is currently the fourth-largest cosmetics exporter worldwide, says Cosmetic Valley. The country has also invested $168m to develop an area dedicated to fashion and beauty, which is set to open in 2023.