AGE20'S aims to dress younger: inside Aekyung Industrial's cosmetics relaunch

"We wanted to break free from being pigeonholed as an essence pact brand sold through a single channel."

Stepping out of Exit 3 at Seongsu Station in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on Thursday, visitors were greeted by a towering campaign image of IVE member Rei. The billboard was part of a pop-up for LUNA, Aekyung Industrial's color cosmetics brand, running at the Musinsa Megastore. A short walk further, another large Rei image appeared — this time outside "THE AGE20'S HOUSE," a pop-up for Aekyung Industrial's makeup brand AGE20'S.

Aekyung Industrial's decision to stage large-scale pop-ups in Seongsu-dong, a neighborhood that draws young shoppers in droves, reflects a clear strategic intent: broaden the customer base. AGE20'S had long built its name around home-shopping channels and its signature essence pact, products associated with an older demographic. The brand has now undergone a full relaunch aimed at connecting with younger consumers and expanding into color makeup more broadly.

Both the AGE20'S and LUNA pop-ups drew a steady stream of young visitors throughout the day. A queue formed outside the Musinsa Megastore as people waited to enter the LUNA event. Inside, visitors snapped photos at every turn and carefully tested products on the backs of their hands.

Lee Hyeon-jeong, executive director of Aekyung Industrial's makeup division, said the relaunch was about elevating what made the essence pact beloved into a full brand identity. "We took the strengths of the essence pact and the reasons it was loved, and built them up into a new brand universe," she said at the AGE20'S pop-up that day. "Global skin-caring makeup — 'skin-first makeup' — is that new universe."

The core of the relaunch is extending the essence pact's strengths across the entire brand. Under the new "skin-first makeup" philosophy, AGE20'S plans to move beyond foundation pacts into a full range of color products, including lip and blush. Lip serums, for instance, now incorporate sun protection, reflecting the brand's emphasis on weaving skincare benefits into makeup.

The target demographic has also shifted. AGE20'S has set women aged 28 to 34 as its primary audience. The introduction of a semi-matte formula is a direct expression of that strategy — semi-matte sits between a dewy finish and a flat matte, leaving skin smooth without shine while avoiding the dryness associated with traditional matte products. The formula pairs the brand's skincare-infused approach with a finish that resonates with younger consumers.

The push is not limited to AGE20'S alone. Taekwang Industrial, which acquired Aekyung Industrial in March, is accelerating efforts to generate new growth from the cosmetics business. The company has set a goal of raising cosmetics' share of total sales from 32 percent last year to more than 50 percent by 2028. Kim Sang-jun, chief executive of Aekyung Industrial, also visited the pop-up that day, signaling close attention to the relaunch.

Global expansion is advancing alongside the brand renewal. AGE20'S already derives 75 percent of its sales from overseas, but the company wants to grow the absolute scale of its international business further. The brand is present in China, Japan, the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia and Russia and the CIS region, with plans to enter the Middle East next. In the US market, the company is investing heavily in localization — offering products that meet the US Food and Drug Administration's over-the-counter standards and expanding its shade range to 20 colors to reflect greater skin-tone diversity.

"For a makeup brand to go global, it must respect the diversity of women and skin tones around the world," Lee said. "We are leading localization by taking into account each country's skin tones, climate and consumer characteristics." She added that Aekyung Industrial's core strength lies in product quality, and the company is focused on how to express that through a distinctly K-beauty lens.