Doctors Cosmetic Opens Door to Overseas Expansion via Export Voucher, Achieving First 100 Million Won Contract

A cosmetic company founded on the medical expertise of dermatologists has established a bridgehead for entering overseas markets through the Export Voucher project. According to a KOTRA TV video, Doctors Cosmetic is achieving results by utilizing the Export Voucher to overcome high entry barriers, such as licensing issues and the burden of marketing costs during the early stages of export.

Early exports felt like "hitting one's head against a wall," but the voucher reduced risks

TERALOGIC, the representative brand of Doctors Cosmetic, aims to be "logical and reasonable cosmetics." Founded by a dermatologist with 20 years of experience, this company has focused on commercializing products so that medicinal ingredients prescribed in hospitals can be used safely at home. It is characterized by securing product competitiveness through the use of professional ingredients such as dexpanthenol, retinol, and phytoceramides.

However, the process of entering overseas markets was not smooth. In the video, the participant recalled the situation at the time, saying, "Crossing borders was not easy, and we had to work with a feeling of truly hitting our heads against a wall." In particular, as a small-scale company, there existed the risk of it being difficult to judge how to spend and manage marketing costs.

In this situation, the Export Voucher project became a practical breakthrough for the company. The participant stated, "Thanks to the Export Voucher, we were able to start marketing, and through this, explosive sales occurred, reaching an amount of approximately 100 million won for our first contract." The explanation is that they were able to lay the marketing foundation to introduce the brand to overseas customers, such as influencer seeding, through the voucher.

Overcoming licensing barriers and expanding global territory by increasing personnel

The licensing issues for each country, which are the biggest gateway to export, were also resolved through the voucher. The company was able to pass the demanding certification procedures required by each country, such as MoCRA certification for entering the United States market and CPNP certification for the Europe market, by utilizing the KOTRA Export Voucher.

Language barriers and cultural differences were also major challenges. Having identified that the cultural perception of retinol ingredients in English-speaking countries is different from Korea, the company increased its responsiveness by hiring professional personnel with experience in English-speaking and Chinese-speaking regions. In particular, the participant reported that marketing utilizing local influencers known as 'Wanghong' in the Chinese-speaking market played a major role in increasing brand awareness and sales volume.

Doctors Cosmetic plans to carry out full-scale marketing in those countries based on the certifications secured in the future. Reaffirming the motto, "We will move the world's smallest dermatology clinic to your vanity," the participant expressed the ambition to raise the status of K-beauty by adhering to the principle of ingredient-centered product development.