K-beauty was certainly taking off in the U.S. in 2012. But, when Hero Cosmetics cofounder and CEO Ju Rhyu discovered hydrocolloid patches to treat acne in Korea, it was one innovation that had not landed stateside.
"I was living [in South Korea] as an expat, and I was breaking out. I don't really know why -- maybe it was a different environment, different lifestyle stress -- but I was breaking out and really frustrated. I saw a lot of people in Korea walking around with these stickers on their faces. I had asked around, like, 'Oh, what is this? Why are people wearing these patches?' And someone told me that it was for acne. I bought some and I tried it for myself; I was blown away at how well it worked," she said on the Glossy Beauty Podcast.
After putting the Hero Cosmetics stamp on hydrocolloid patches, the brand debuted first on Amazon in 2017 and then launched its own DTC website the following year. Though Amazon dissenters in beauty have existed for some time, Rhyu said the platform was the "fastest, cheapest and easiest" way to come to market as a startup. "I wanted to prove out my hypothesis, which was that if I create an acne patch brand for the Western audience, it was going to be successful," she said. Rhyu was more than right. Hero Cosmetics has spurred an acne patch phenomenon and is expected to close the year with more than $80 million in retail sales.