PARIS – Europe-born K-beauty brand Yepoda is widening its reach by launching into brick-and-mortar through Sephoras across Europe starting in March.
That debut follows Yepoda’s U.S. entry online in December 2024 and a series of pop-ups in Europe.
“K-beauty is way more than just a trend, but really something that defines a new industry standard,” said Veronika Strotmann, who cofounded the Berlin-based brand launched in 2020 with her husband Sander Joonyoung van Bladel. The aim with Yepoda was to make K-beauty accessible to the Western market.
South Korea has been a hotbed of cutting-edge beauty, spawning global trends such as BB Cream and cushion-based foundation technology starting about 12 years ago. And there’s been an international resurgence of K-beauty recently.
Yepoda’s recent pop-up at Galeries Lafayette in Paris.
Courtesy of Yepoda
Yepoda has 20 skin care products with clean, natural and vegan formulas that are developed and made in South Korea. Its full-size products range in price from 18 euros to 35 euros.
The brand’s bestsellers include Calm Balm cleanser, The Bubble Double cleanser foam and The Dewy Day tinted skin care cushion.
Last year, Yepoda launched a limited-edition shampoo and conditioner in its advent calendar. “Lots of people are asking for it, [for us] to bring it back,” said van Bladel. In December 2024, Yepoda also introduced a hand cream.
“In terms of new product development and also ideation around products, we try to work very closely with our customer base, because we do have these big communities on social media,” said Strotmann. “So we can super easily pool them and get their feedback.”
Yepoda first went live in Germany in April 2020, then quickly expanded to Italy and Spain, followed by France and the U.K. a half-year ago.
The brand has staged five pop-ups, which the founders call “stay-ups,” since the stores tend to remain open for three to six months. There have already been two each in Milan and Paris, and one in Rome. Experience is key for these locations, which have a Korean photo booth and an interior designed for discovery.
For 2025, other plans for retail include more pop-ups. “We are super happy to explore more in the offline world, especially on the experience-driven side,” said van Bladel.
The Bubble Double from Yepoda.
Courtesy of Yepoda
Yepoda is majority-owned by him and Strotmann. In December 2022, it closed a series A funding round.
In 2024, Yepoda generated 65 million euros in net sales, up 130 percent year-on-year. “We have super high retention,” said van Bladel.
Italy is the brand’s biggest market, followed by France. The U.S. has been its best country launch so far.
For Yepoda, 2025 has begun with a bang. “The new year started even better than last year,” said van Bladel. “It looks like we’re following the same trajectory.”
