K-Beauty’s Next Chapter Is Built Beyond the Shelf

Muskat Beauty founder Daniella Jung on translating Korean beauty innovation into a retail business with staying power.

A viral product can get shoppers looking and a retail launch can make it easier to buy, but neither guarantees that someone will come back for a second bottle.

For Daniella Jung, that return visit is where the more interesting business story begins.

As founder and CEO of Most Inc. and its North American operating arm, Muskat Beauty Inc., Jung works at the intersection of Korean beauty innovation and North American retail. Her role spans the decisions that shape a brand’s expansion: which retailers to pursue, which products to lead with, how to price them, and what it takes to keep those products moving once they arrive.

“I built Most and Muskat around one conviction: great Korean brands deserve a much bigger global stage,” Jung tells The Beauty Brief.

Making that stage commercially viable takes a particular mix of brand judgment, consumer understanding, and operational discipline. Muskat’s work offers a useful look at what happens when all three inform the strategy.

The product opens the door. The brand needs somewhere to go.

K-Beauty has given consumers plenty of reasons to pay attention, from ingredient discoveries to products that become fixtures across social feeds. Jung looks beyond that initial excitement when evaluating a potential partner.

“A viral product can open the door, but it doesn't build a lasting brand,” she says. “I look for founders with a clear vision, a strong product development pipeline, and the ability to stay relevant as consumer needs evolve.”

That distinction matters for marketers. A breakout product gives a brand a compelling introduction. The broader proposition gives consumers a reason to explore further.

Jung’s horizon stretches well beyond the next launch: “Ultimately, I'm looking for brands that can still matter ten years from now.”

A retail strategy has to account for the retailer.

Muskat’s partnerships span retailers including Costco, Sephora Canada, and Target, each with its own shopping context. According to Jung, those differences should influence how a brand enters the channel.

“Costco shoppers prioritize exceptional value and proven performance, Sephora customers are often seeking innovation and discovery, while Target requires accessibility and everyday relevance.”

For a marketing team, that means getting specific about the purchase decision. What does this shopper need to understand? What makes the product relevant to the trip they are already taking? Which part of the brand’s story will help them choose?

Muskat’s work includes assortment, retail pricing, inventory forecasting and management, channel-specific campaigns, and trade marketing. Those decisions connect the brand promise to the experience of finding, buying, and replenishing a product.

Two brands. Two clear points of entry.

Muskat’s Target Beauty Studio partnership brings that thinking into focus through Purito Seoul and Aromatica.

The assortment described in the launch announcement spans 15 products: nine from Purito and six from Aromatica. Each brand gives shoppers a distinct starting point.

“Purito Seoul brings approachable, skin-barrier-focused skincare with thoughtful formulations, while Aromatica offers a distinctive approach to scalp care,” Jung explains.

The pairing presents K-Beauty through recognizable routine needs. One brand speaks to caring for the skin barrier; the other introduces a scalp-care ritual. Together, they create room for discovery while giving shoppers a clear reason to engage with each.

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The launch needs a business behind it.

“Getting onto the shelf is only the beginning,” Jung says.

Her advice to founders considering North American retail is practical: understand the investment required, the retailer’s customer, and the operating demands of the partnership. A differentiated product needs financial readiness and a long-term commitment behind it.

That has direct implications for marketing. The launch campaign needs to sit within a larger plan for education, ongoing demand, and repeat purchase. Inventory and promotional support need to keep pace with the attention being generated.

A strong introduction creates an opportunity. The work that follows determines how much of that opportunity a brand can sustain.

The Beauty Brief Take

The most useful part of Muskat’s approach is its definition of success.

“For us, meaningful success means building brands that consumers keep coming back to, and creating profitable, sustainable partnerships with retailers,” Jung says.

For beauty founders and marketers, that is a sharper brief than securing the next retail announcement. It asks whether the assortment makes sense, whether the message fits the shopper, and whether the business can support the demand it hopes to create.

K-Beauty’s capacity for innovation gives brands a powerful starting point. Turning that innovation into an everyday purchase, and then a repeat purchase, is where the strategy earns its keep.