YUNACOS, a Korean SME in the beauty industry, is preparing for a major global expansion as it targets the growing Muslim market. CEO Yunha Choi has been a leading expert in cosmetic research for more than 25 years, teaching at universities, mentoring future professionals, and appearing on various broadcast programs to share her knowledge on cosmetic ingredients, formulations, and product safety. Her extensive research experience and long-standing contributions to education have earned her strong recognition as a trusted specialist in the industry.
However, CEO Yunha Choi’s professional journey extends far beyond research and education. To help Korean beauty products reach a wider international audience and strengthen their competitiveness in new global markets, she has acquired official qualifications that allow her to directly conduct halal certification reviewsfor cosmetics. This capability is exceptionally rare among Korean cosmetic companies and represents a powerful advantage for brands seeking entry into Muslim-majority countries without navigating overly complex procedures.
The Muslim market is a global megamarket with a consumer base of roughly 2 billion people. Demand for halal-certified products—including cosmetics—is rapidly increasing across the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Africa. Halal certification serves as an internationally recognized indicator of a product’s safety, ethical compliance, and cleanliness, making it a valuable trust marker not only for Muslim consumers but also for the broader global market.
The greatest challenge for Korean companies entering these regions lies in the complex and varied halal certification requirements, which differ by country and by certifying authority. For many SMEs, managing this alone can be overwhelming. CEO Yunha Choi, however, brings a uniquely comprehensive skill set capable of resolving these challenges.
In particular, she is able to guide companies through the certification process for any country in the world, providing full support from ingredient analysis to product formulation. As a seasoned natural cosmetics expert, she has long been involved in developing ingredients and raw materials. This background allows her to analyze and reformulate everything—from food-grade components to cosmetic raw materials—in alignment with each country’s halal standards. This is not simple consulting; it is a hands-on technical capability that only a few specialists in Korea possess, enabling complete formulation design for halal compliance.
With CEO Yunha Choi’s guidance, companies can complete the typically complicated certification process quickly, accurately, and entirely within Korea, avoiding the burden of navigating multiple foreign authorities. This results in significant time and cost savings.
Leveraging her expertise, CEO Yunha Choi is actively helping numerous Korean beauty SMEs enter key Muslim markets such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia. Brands that have received her consulting support are successfully advancing overseas, using halal certification as a strategic advantage to enhance global competitiveness.
As the global influence of K-beauty continues to grow, CEO Yunha Choi armed with both halal certification authority and deep ingredient research expertise—is emerging as a pivotal figure driving the worldwide expansion of Korean cosmetics. Her ongoing certification assistance and market development efforts are expected to play a crucial role in shaping the next phase of K-beauty’s global growth.
▲ YUNACOS
▲ CEO YUNHA CHOI
▲ www.manomani.co.kr
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
