Anua may best be known as one of the leading brands of K-beauty’s second coming, but it wants more.
The buzzy skin care brand is launching a new Barrier Reboot trio of moisturizers, marking Anua’s first collection codeveloped with dermatologists as the brand looks to break through in the fast-growing dermocosmetics category.
“This year, our brand slogan is ‘Anua: Where Trend Meets Trust,’” said Salang Yoon, product manager at Anua, in an interview with WWD. “A lot of customers are familiar with K-beauty brands, but think that they’re just good at sensorial formulas and trendy products…Barrier Reboot is focused on building the trust of our brand, and giving global customers a clinically driven line that they can use continuously.”
According to L’Oréal estimates, dermocosmetics represented 9.2 percent of the beauty business in 2024, up from 6.8 percent in 2017.
Anua, founded in 2019, began rising Stateside in 2024 thanks to its viral Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil, which sells more than 50,000 monthly units on Amazon, as well as its ultra-discounted skin care sets on TikTok Shop.
The brand has sold more than 1.2 million products on TikTok Shop to date, and is also one of the first brands Ulta Beauty is piloting via its own TikTok Shop storefront that launched earlier this month.
According to Yoon, Anua exceeded $500 million in retail sales in 2025.
“The U.S. is [Anua’s] biggest market,” said Yoon, adding that, “Barrier Reboot will be a huge cash cow for our strategy not only this year, but the next and even two years after: we want people to know that we are a serious brand.”
Anua is one of three brands owned by Korean conglomerate The Founders Inc, whose portfolio also includes pet care brand Project 21 (not yet available in the U.S.) and hair care brand From Labs (available in the U.S. via Amazon and direct-to-consumer).
The Barrier Boost products, priced at $24 for the lightweight Daily Moisturizer and $26 for the Water Gel Cream and Intensive Cream, respectively, were formulated with Anua’s newly appointed board of five dermatologists to cater to different skin types.
In January, Anua teamed with “KPop Demon Hunters” for a themed collection of skin care products.
Anua
“The Water Gel Cream is focused on the customer who has combination skin and excess sebum; the Daily Moisturizer is for the family, including kids who are 36 months of age and older, and the Intensive Cream is more of a treatment for people who have extremely dry skin,” said Yoon.
One of the dermatologists who codeveloped the launch was Dr. Muneeb Shah, who is known to his 17.7 million TikTok followers as @doctorly and is a frequent collaborator of more mass-market dermocosmetics brands like Neutrogena and CeraVe.
“There are lots of dermocosmetic products on the market in the U.S., but where there was a real area for improvement was in this textural experience and wearability throughout the day,” said Shah, adding that the Barrier Boost range is powered by a combination of ceramide, fatty acid and cholesterol precursors that aim to help the skin barrier replenish itself for longer-term relief.
The moisturizers are now available on Amazon and online at Ulta, and later this year, Anua will launch at Sephora as part of Olive Young’s K-beauty partnership with the retailer.
“Our customer demographics are broad; we want to communicate massively with lots of customers, rather than focusing on niche needs,” said Yoon, adding that as far as dermocosmetics go, Barrier Boost “is just the start.”
