Southeast Asia is not one market — Vietnam -10%, Indonesia +23%
In 2025 Korean cosmetics exports to Vietnam, the largest ASEAN market, fell 10.0%, while Indonesia rose 23.1% and the Philippines 22.9%. Same region, opposite directions. And Indonesia's mandatory halal certification for cosmetics lands on 17 October 2026.
Treating Southeast Asia as one market stops working as soon as you separate the countries. In 2025, Korean cosmetics exports to Vietnam fell 10.0% to US$476.4M, while Indonesia rose 23.1% to US$168.1M and the Philippines rose 22.9% to US$112.2M. The largest market is cooling fastest and the smaller ones are growing fastest. On top of that, from 17 October 2026 halal certification becomes a condition of distribution for cosmetics in Indonesia.
The biggest market in the region cooled the fastest
Most Southeast Asia entry plans open with the word ASEAN. Split the 2025 export figures by country and that single word points in two directions at once. Korean cosmetics exports grew 12.2% overall to US$11.418 billion, and the one market that fell was the region's largest, Vietnam, down 10.0%.
| Country | 2025 exports | Year on year |
|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | US$476.4M | -10.0% |
| Thailand | US$251.4M | +11.4% |
| Indonesia | US$168.1M | +23.1% |
| Malaysia | US$162.1M | +6.6% |
| Singapore | US$147.2M | -4.8% |
| Philippines | US$112.2M | +22.9% |
Vietnam is still the largest K-beauty market in the region. It is also the one where local brands and Chinese and Korean brands arrived at once, which is the reported reason behind the decline. The conclusion is not to skip Vietnam. It is that a Vietnam plan and an Indonesia plan written in the same document will both be wrong.
The reading is fairly simple. Vietnam is a market where K-beauty is already common, so entering without a differentiator means being pulled down to price. Indonesia and the Philippines still have open shelf, but the door now has a condition attached to it.
From 17 October, halal is not optional in Indonesia
Indonesia requires BPJPH halal certification for cosmetics from 17 October 2026, with enforcement beginning on 18 October. The framework sits under the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH), with Ministry of Religious Affairs Decree 748/2021, Government Regulation 42/2024 and BPOM Regulation 8/2026 read together.
The most common misreading is that missing the date buys a grace period. It does not. A product that misses the deadline is not exempt; it remains non-compliant until certified, and in the meantime faces customs holds, retailer delisting and sanctions. Fines for serious violations are reported at up to IDR 2 billion, about US$130,000.
Given the calendar, a filing started now will not clear by 17 October. Published guidance ranges from 15 to 20 working days for the BPJPH review stage to 21 to 42 working days for the full process, and for an overseas brand the document preparation ahead of that usually runs into months. The useful exercise today is not hitting the date. It is working backwards from the month you intend to be back on shelf.
Three structural points are easy to miss when planning the filing.
- The certificate must originate in the country of manufacture, from a body holding a mutual recognition arrangement with BPJPH. In November 2023 BPJPH signed MRAs with 37 foreign bodies, including the Korea Muslim Federation (KMF) and the Korean Halal Authority. Lists change, so confirm against BPJPH's current notice.
- Each distributor registers independently. One certificate cannot be shared across several importers.
- The dossier reaches past the finished good into supplier halal certificates and declarations for the raw materials. Checking ingredient documentation before the formula is locked is far cheaper than after. If you are still shaping the formula, set the ingredient axis first in the product planner.
Discovery happens on TikTok, the purchase closes on Shopee
Channel mix does not generalise across the region either. In Indonesian beauty and personal care, tracked at SKU level from January to May 2026, the two large platforms moved in opposite directions.
| Platform | Jan 2026 | May 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopee | US$109.5M | US$124.9M | +14% |
| TikTok Shop | US$86.4M | US$78.0M | -10% |
| Gap | ~US$23M | ~US$47M | roughly doubled |
Five months, and the gap doubled. Reading that as "cut the TikTok budget to zero" goes too far. TikTok is still where a new product is first found, and Shopee is where that demand converts. The practical error is putting the same KPI on both channels, which makes both of them look like failures.
For scale, the Indonesian beauty and personal care market was measured at US$9.74 billion in 2025, growing 4.33% a year, with cosmetics accounting for roughly US$2.09 billion of it. Set Korea's US$168.1M of 2025 exports to Indonesia beside that and the share is still single digit.
Climate changes the specification, not the marketing copy
The one thing that genuinely generalises across Southeast Asia is neither regulation nor channel. It is climate. In a year-round hot and humid environment, high oil load and a strong occlusive finish come back as "heavy", so the centre of gravity moves toward gels, watery emulsions and serums, with a non-tacky finish specified rather than hoped for.
The Korean shelf is already pointed that way, which helps. In our daily Olive Young ranking data (updated 1 October 2026, covering the 67 days from 16 July to 30 September), the hyaluronic acid signal is up 82.2%. A light-hydration range therefore travels with the fewest formulation changes, while a range built on rich creams and balms tends to fail on texture before it ever gets to a claim discussion. Ingredient-level movement is updated daily on today's ingredient signals.
Packaging and logistics follow the formula. Shipments that pass through sustained heat show viscosity drift and fragrance change sooner than the same product does domestically. Keeping Korean stability test conditions and only changing the export paperwork is common, and it comes back as a complaint rather than as a sample.
In short
- Southeast Asia is not one market. In 2025 Vietnam was -10.0% and Singapore -4.8%, against Indonesia +23.1% and the Philippines +22.9%.
- Halal certification becomes a condition of distribution in Indonesia on 17 October 2026. A filing started now will not make it, so work backwards from a re-entry date instead.
- The certificate must come from the country of manufacture, from an MRA-recognised body, and each distributor registers separately. Raw material documentation sits upstream of all of it.
- TikTok opens the demand, Shopee closes it. The gap between them roughly doubled between January and May 2026.
- Climate is the only thing you can generalise. A light-hydration range crosses over with the least rework.
*Sources: REACH24H, "Insights from South Korea's 2025 Cosmetics Export and Industry Data" (2025 export figures); in-cosmetics, "Indonesia's mandatory Halal cosmetics regulations 2026"; Deva Skintek, "Indonesia Halal Cosmetics 2026: What Brands Must Do by 17 Oct"; ANTARA News, "BPJPH inks mutual recognition agreement with 37 halal institutions" (19 November 2023); Magpie IQ, "In Indonesian Beauty, Shopee's Lead Over TikTok Shop Doubled in Early 2026" (January–May 2026); our own Olive Young ranking collection (updated 1 October 2026). Regulatory dates and the MRA-recognised body list can change — verify against BPJPH's current notice before filing.*
Questions people ask
The numbers do not allow it. In 2025 Vietnam was -10.0% and Singapore -4.8%, while Indonesia was +23.1%, the Philippines +22.9% and Thailand +11.4%. Regulation diverges too: halal becomes mandatory in Indonesia and is not mandatory elsewhere in the region. The one thing that does generalise is the formulation direction imposed by climate. Certification, channel and price have to be planned country by country.
17 October 2026, with enforcement starting the next day, 18 October. Uncertified products face customs holds, delisting by retailers and regulatory sanctions. Missing the date does not create an exemption; a product simply stays non-compliant until it is certified. Fines for serious violations are reported at up to IDR 2 billion, roughly US$130,000.
Only if it comes from a body that holds a mutual recognition arrangement with BPJPH, and the certificate must originate in the country of manufacture. In November 2023 BPJPH signed MRAs with 37 foreign bodies, and the list included the Korea Muslim Federation (KMF) and the Korean Halal Authority. The list and the scope of recognition change, so verify against BPJPH's current notice before filing.
In SKU-level tracking of Indonesian beauty and personal care, Shopee moved from US$109.5M in January 2026 to US$124.9M in May, up 14%, while TikTok Shop fell from US$86.4M to US$78.0M, down 10%. The gap between them roughly doubled, from about US$23M to US$47M, in five months. That is not an argument for dropping TikTok. It is an argument for treating TikTok as discovery and Shopee as the place the purchase closes.
It changes the sensory pass mark. In a year-round hot and humid market, a high-occlusive, high-oil texture reads as heavy, and gels, watery emulsions and serums are preferred. Our daily Olive Young ranking data (updated 1 October 2026, covering the 67 days from 16 July to 30 September) shows the hyaluronic acid signal up 82.2%. The Korean shelf has already moved toward light hydration, so that part of a range travels with the fewest changes.