Kolmar Korea is leveraging the global rise of the “K-trend” – the growing influence of Korean beauty – as a major opportunity for international expansion. In an interview with Formes de Luxe, Global Chief Commercial Officer Philippe Warnery highlighted how the company’s innovation, speed, and manufacturing expertise position it as a key partner for global brands looking to tap into K-beauty’s success.
Warnery emphasized that the K-trend has evolved from a regional movement into a worldwide standard for product development and creativity. To meet global demands, Kolmar Korea has expanded its footprint with a second U.S. facility and a North American R&D center, aiming to strengthen collaboration with international partners and tailor products to local markets.
By combining advanced R&D, flexible production, and cross-market insight, Kolmar Korea aims to bridge Korean innovation with global beauty expectations – helping brands deliver products that are trend-driven, high-performing, and globally relevant.
Philippe Warnery, Kolmar Korea: “K-trend is a huge opportunity for global brands”
Kolmar Korea has been chosen by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) to lead the cosmetics sector in the country’s AI Factory Alliance initiative – a national project designed to transform traditional manufacturing into AI-driven innovation hubs.
As the only cosmetics company selected, Kolmar will develop a fully autonomous production system that uses AI across every stage – from formulation and filling to packaging and quality control. The project runs from September 2025 through December 2029, aiming for more than 95% process accuracy and greater production flexibility for customized beauty solutions.
Building on its smart-factory success, which reduced defect rates by 42%, Kolmar plans to expand its AI model globally – reaching facilities in the U.S., Canada, and China, as well as its health supplement and pharmaceutical divisions.
This milestone reinforces Kolmar’s role as a leader in digital transformation, setting new standards for efficiency, precision, and innovation in K-beauty manufacturing.
Kolmar Korea, a leading manufacturer in the beauty sector, has unveiled a new AI-powered platform aimed at streamlining how beauty brands source packaging. The company says this technology can shrink the entire packaging lead time from up to six months down to under a month.
Called Kolmarpkg.com, the platform allows brand clients to upload an image of a product concept; the system will analyze it and suggest matching packaging solutions from a catalog of 4,000 pre-certified options, including bottles, tubes, jars, pumps, closures, makeup sticks, and accessories. Users can also filter by product type, volume, and intended manufacturing country.
Behind the scenes, Kolmar connects clients to its global network of certified container manufacturers. Through Kolmar’s regional offices in Korea, the U.S., Canada, and China, the platform supports order management, supplier selection, minimum order quantities, and invoicing — all in one seamless interface.
By consolidating multiple steps into a single workflow, Kolmar projects brands will be able to launch globally far more quickly and with greater transparency. The company plans to extend the platform’s database to more than 10,000 packaging variants and deepen partnerships with local manufacturers worldwide.
A spokesperson at Kolmar said, “Implanted with AI, this new platform is a client-friendly solution that handles global packaging easily and fast — with our guarantee for quality. It demonstrates our commitment to supporting clients’ expansion across markets.”
