rom&nd's global expansion, built on authentic communication

rom&nd has swept major beauty awards in Korea and Japan and established itself as one of the most talked-about beauty brands during Black Friday in November 2024, winning over Millennials and Gen Z beyond Korea in global markets.

By launching one innovative marketing strategy and customer-driven product after another, it’s growing at a remarkable pace in Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, the US and beyond. That’s the secret to rom&nd’s growth: a philosophy of customer-centered product development. rom&nd is a color cosmetics brand launched by I-Family SC, weaving its brand identity, “Beauty Holic’s Favorite,” together with a wide range of colors and a trendy sensibility that let people express themselves more authentically, into its products and content. Through this, it focuses on delivering beauty experiences that make ordinary days special.

So why is rom&nd so loved in global markets? Find out in this interview.

What we cover in this interview

About rom&nd
rom&nd’s secret to customer communication: a beauty brand with a loyal fan base
Why rom&nd succeeds in global markets
rom&nd’s growth with MarqVision
rom&nd’s challenges and goals

1. About rom&nd

rom&nd is a color cosmetics brand that brings emotion to everyday life, offering products and experiences that let people express themselves more authentically. True to its brand philosophy, it started with collaborations with beauty creators who express their own unique style well. From the start, it developed products based on customer feedback and used creators’ fandoms for launches and promotion. Later, as it expanded its target to general consumers, it focused on young women aged 18 to 24 and refined its products with reasonable prices and a broad range of shades.

As a result of consistently listening to and learning from customers, rom&nd has become a brand that can compete in global markets too.

2. rom&nd’s secret to customer communication: a beauty brand with a loyal fan base

Q: rom&nd is known as a beauty brand with a loyal fan base. What’s the secret to the special relationship rom&nd has with its fans?

The key is listening to and communicating with customers. From its early days, rom&nd made listening to customers and reflecting their voices in its products its top priority. What makes rom&nd’s customers special is that they go beyond using the products: they actively share their opinions and feel a sense of ownership in the brand.

For example, rom&nd runs customer participation events where it tests new products with customers and hears their feedback, and regularly hosts “Kodeok parties” (gatherings for cosmetics enthusiasts) for its fans and customers. Pop-up events like these are common in the beauty industry today, but rom&nd was the first to create opportunities to reflect customer opinions this actively.

After a new product launches, we can see a wide range of reactions on social media. rom&nd’s customers go beyond interest to give in-depth feedback on products, and sometimes debates even break out around them.

We see this as the result of rom&nd consistently conveying its customer-centered philosophy of developing products with customer opinions as the top priority. To maintain this mutual trust, rom&nd’s team carefully monitors customer feedback and reflects it in product development and marketing.

Q: Tell us a bit more about rom&nd’s growth and its customer-centered philosophy.

What stands out about rom&nd’s communication with customers is that it doesn’t stop at one-off events: it’s building lasting spaces for communication.

A leading example is the “Open Office.” rom&nd has opened the first floor of its headquarters to customers as a special space where they can test new products and leave feedback. It’s not just a store for displaying and selling products, but a space where customers and the brand communicate and build trust.

At first there were plans to use the space as a store, but to put its philosophy of “a brand made by its customers” into practice, rom&nd put communication with customers first.

The space is designed to maximize two-way communication between customers and the brand, and visitors can freely leave feedback on products. Instead of simply lining up products, it’s set up around a desk concept, with desks for merchandisers, marketers and brand managers, to actively take in customers’ opinions. Surveys are also placed throughout so customers can easily leave comments as they try products, giving them the experience of being part of the brand.

Q: This customer-centered philosophy seems to come through in your product collaborations too. How do you choose collaborations?

rom&nd’s collaborations go beyond licensing characters: they focus on telling stories customers can relate to.

Our first collaboration, with “Anne of Green Gables,” is a good example. It went beyond design to focus on building empathy and connection that rom&nd and its customers could share. To do that, we analyzed the animation and film series closely and worked hard to find where the brand and the character overlapped.

Anne symbolizes the strength to overcome one’s insecurities and accept oneself as one is. rom&nd, too, as its “&nd” connector suggests, wants to be a beauty brand that helps customers love and accept themselves as they are. Building on this, we developed the core message #ItsOkayToBeARedhead and wove Anne’s iconic quotes and imagery naturally into the packaging design to build a connection with customers, and that effort resonated with them, as we’d hoped.

With its customer-centered philosophy guiding product development and branding, rom&nd has become a brand loved in Korea and abroad.

3. Why rom&nd succeeds in global markets

Q: K-beauty has become hugely popular in global markets recently. What strategy did rom&nd use to expand globally?

This year, rom&nd collaborated with illustrator INAPSQUARE. To match INAPSQUARE’s signature color, black, we launched a color-changing lip product that shifts with pH when applied.

But global fans didn’t react the way we expected. Rather than a pH-changing lip, they wanted a “real” black lip color. So we quickly invited some of our global fans to join a customer development team (BLACK LIP CREW) and started a black lip development project. The product is in development now.

As this shows, rom&nd focuses on understanding “what customers truly want,” regardless of borders, and applies the same principle to communicating with global fans.

Q: Last year you were very active in France, Japan and China. Which countries are you considering next?

Right now we’re focusing on the US. K-beauty has been getting a positive response in the US recently, and we want to make the most of it. We hope to open a special space for rom&nd’s global fans soon.

Q: You must have faced different challenges in each country as you expanded abroad. What were they, and how did you overcome them?

rom&nd doesn’t believe it can do everything well on its own. Our strength is listening to customers, and we focus our R&D on that.

As we kept launching new lines, we learned that trademarks have to be registered separately in each country we enter. Even if you hold a trademark in Korea, you have to check in advance whether the name is valid in each country and secure the trademark there. Trademark rights were especially important because they let us act effectively against illegal distribution or unauthorized sales abroad. So we recommend that companies planning to enter overseas markets prepare to secure their trademarks in advance.

4. rom&nd and MarqVision

In any collaboration, rom&nd values people and trust most. We believe a collaboration succeeds only when you work in step with a team that respects and deeply understands rom&nd’s direction and philosophy.

Thanks to our long partnership with MarqVision, rom&nd has been able to protect the core values of our brand. With Marq AI, we protect the brand and products consumers trust, and we keep consumers safe from goods of unknown origin. This goes beyond brand protection; it’s an important part of keeping consumers’ trust.

MarqFolio’s attentive support stood out in particular as we entered overseas markets. By coordinating complex trademark filing procedures around rom&nd’s strategy, it made meeting our global fans much easier. And the MarqVision team’s quick responses to our questions let us make decisions quickly and efficiently.

The first step to maintaining brand trust and protecting customers is registering trademarks. Building on that, rom&nd keeps growing steadily in global markets, and our partnership with MarqVision has played an important role in making that journey even more solid.

5. rom&nd’s challenges and goals

rom&nd always listens to its customers and reflects their opinions as it grows into a beloved brand. It keeps communicating and building trust with customers in Korea and around the world, and rather than chasing beauty trends, aims to be a brand that stays close to its customers. We plan to keep growing by creating opportunities to convey the brand’s values authentically and continuing attentive communication with customers.

rom&nd listens to its customers and conveys its brand philosophy with sincerity. Thanks to these efforts, it has built a loyal fan base beyond Korea in global markets, and building on feedback from Korean customers, it communicates actively abroad, hearing more stories and exploring new possibilities for growth.

Authentic communication is key to strengthening trust between brands and customers. Want to grow while protecting your brand philosophy and products in Korea and abroad? If you need brand protection consulting tailored to your brand, contact us today.

rom&nd's global expansion strategy, built on authentic communication