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2026 K-Brand Growth Report · Free download

Exports and revenue at record highs. So why are pricing power and margins shrinking?

We asked 400 K-brands directly, and analyzed the risks hidden behind growth and how brands that keep growing operate.

Download the 2026 K-Brand Growth Report, free →Watch the deep-dive webinar
Cover of the 2026 K-Brand Growth Report
  • KRW 11 trillionSize of the K-brand counterfeit marketThe bigger your revenue, the bigger the risk
  • 63%of brands have lost revenue to unofficial distributionThe more you grow, the bigger the business crisis it becomes

Executives and practitioners ask these questions every day.

We asked 400 K-brands: "If you could ask AI just one question to help run your brand, what would you ask first?"

(Below are real voices collected during the survey)

  • Q1.

    “Why is our brand being misused?”

    Real answer, beauty brand practitioner

  • Q2.

    “How far apart are our market prices from Coupang's?”

    Real answer, consumer goods brand team lead

  • Q3.

    “Show me the URLs where our brand is sold through the wrong channels.”

    Real answer, fashion brand executive

  • Q4.

    “If that impersonating account stays up, how much damage should we expect?”

    Real answer, beauty brand executive

The questions 400 brand executives and practitioners want to ask. This report holds the first clues to the answers.

What makes this report different?

Brand protection reports so far have focused on "how much was detected and taken down". This report analyzes how brand risk affects business results. It is not just for IP teams: it is for marketing, sales, e-commerce and GTM practitioners and for executives alike.

Method

How we collected the data.

Collected through Remember Research's panel of 5 million working professionals.

400people

K-brand respondents

Practitioners through executives at large and mid-sized companies expanding globally all took part.

200 + 200 • balanced design

  • 200 PractitionersStaff to senior managers · hands-on owners
  • 200 Decision-makersDirectors · executives · CEOs · strategy and budget owners

3industries

Core industries

140 in fashion, luxury and beauty, 132 in consumer goods, living and leisure, 128 in other industries. The survey covers the categories driving K-brand exports.

Channel Mix

Where do the 400 brands sell?

2.9channelsAverage channels run in parallel per respondent

  • Own online store (D2C)75.5%
  • Korean open marketplacesCoupang · Naver · 11st · SSG68.8%
  • OfflineDepartment stores · duty free · H&B · own stores58.3%
  • Korean vertical platformsMusinsa · Olive Young · Kurly · Ohouse40.8%
  • Global e-commerceAmazon · Taobao · Shopee · Rakuten32.3%
  • Social commerceInstagram · TikTok Shop18.3%

One in three K-brands (32.3%) already sells on global e-commerce such as Amazon, Taobao and Shopee. In other words, the more sales channels a brand adds, the more risk it has to protect against and manage.

Key insights only in the 2026 K-Brand Growth Report

Based on the survey of 400 K-brands and real operating data, we analyzed the risks that hold brand growth back and how the brands that moved first operate. Download the report now for the full analysis and the actual figures.

Go to the report download →
  1. 01

    Why focus on risk management now?

    • K-cosmetics exports pass(figure in the report)hundred million dollars for the first time
    • K-brands' share of Amazon's skincare top 100:(figure in the report)%
    • In 2025,(figure in the report)% of e-commerce spending was influenced by AI and agents
    • Of 400 companies,(figure in the report)% said "global e-commerce is now a must"
  2. 02

    The uncontrolled risks K-brands face

    • Of companies entering new channels,(figure in the report)% lost revenue
    • Actual revenue losses of up to(figure in the report)%
    • How strongly do revenue loss and operating margin correlate?
    • The gap in risk perception between practitioners and executives:(figure in the report)%p
    • Companies not ready for agentic commerce:(figure in the report)%
  3. 03

    What do the brands that moved first manage differently?

    • The top(figure in the report)% of companies manage operating profit as the KPI, not the number of takedowns
    • Only(figure in the report)% of companies connect internal and external data in real time
    • Companies ready with AI-driven operations: just(figure in the report)%
    • What did Yonsei Milk, F&F and LUSH manage differently?

Built from real market data and brand operating data, analyzed together.

This report combines a survey of Remember Research's panel of 5 million working professionals with the operating data MarqVision has built up supporting more than 500 global brands. With both market perception and real operating data, it takes a fuller look at the risks brands face and how growing companies operate.

Data partner

Remember Research

Korea's largest B2B research platform, built on a panel of 5 million working professionals

For this study, we surveyed practitioners and decision-makers at 400 K-brands that have entered or are preparing to enter global markets.

Research author

MarqVision

The brand intelligence and protection platform 500+ global brands chose as their AI operations partner

Real brand operating data gathered across 118 countries and 1,500+ online marketplaces

feeds the insights in this report.

  • 500+Global brand customers
  • 118 countriesService coverage
  • 1,500+Channels monitored
  • 50.41MEnforcements per year (2025)
  • Official YouTube ECMT brand protection partner
  • Member of the UK Intellectual Property Crime Group (IPCG)
  • Named a Leader in brand protection by G2

From customers who adopted AI operations first

We asked 400 K-brands through Remember Research's panel of 5 million working professionals, and built the report on the field data MarqVision has gathered from partnerships with 500+ global brands.

  • “Now we don't react after something goes wrong. We can manage distribution and pricing issues ahead of time.”

    Yonsei Milk team member

  • “It lets us fully protect the value of a brand we built with years of care, and as awareness of the genuine product grows, we expect it to help revenue grow too.”

    F&F team member

  • “Thanks to MarqVision's global partnerships, we could effectively protect even regions that were hard to cover before.”

    LUSH team member

WebinarRecording available

What the report couldn't hold continues in the webinar.

Beyond the key findings in the report, the webinar shares deeper insights built on additional data and real cases.

When
Wed, August 5, 2026, 2:00 PM
Format
Online · recording available after the event

Only in the webinar

  • Data not published in the report
  • Deep dives by industry: fashion, beauty, F&B and more
  • An operating framework for growing brands
  • A demo of the Brand Intelligence Agent
Watch the webinar →
Report

How growing brands operate, proven with data

Based on the survey of 400 K-brands and real customer cases, see in the report the operating strategies growing brands chose to protect their profit.

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