She helped make K-beauty mainstream in the US. Olive Kim's next goal: K-Wellness in your coffee cup
Olive Kim knows a thing or two about K-beauty.
Widely recognized as a pioneering force in making Korean skincare and cosmetics become mainstream in the US, the beauty entrepreneur now wants American shoppers to level up to K-beauty 2.0. — in other words — “K-Wellness.”
“What you’re consuming is now a big part of K-beauty, which I like to refer to as K-Wellness,” Kim said in an interview with Bagable.com. “We’ve seen K-beauty take off in the past decade in the US. More recently, it’s evolving and there’s so much more awareness and interest in the real function of K-beauty, which is the concept of ‘inner beauty.’ We would like that to mean being kind and gracious to others. Another dimension of it is inner beauty fueled by what you consume.”
Kim is the former co-founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based K-beauty brand, The Crème Shop. The K-beauty brand was founded in 1988 and it introduced affordable Korean skincare and makeup products in cute packaging to American consumers.
It took a while for K-beauty to gain traction. By the early-to-mid 2000s, younger consumers caught on. Sheet masks, BB creams, lip tints and the Korean beauty trend of “glass skin” went viral, elevating K-beauty to new heights.
By then, The Crème Shop had also expanded into major retailers, including CVS stores nationwide. In 2022, K-beauty was no longer a niche concept to western consumers. That same year, a South Korean beauty conglomerate acquired a majority stake in The Crème Shop for $120 million, and then fully acquired it in 2025.
According to NIQ, a market research and consumer insights firm, K-beauty sales in the US surged to $2 billion in 2025- up 37% year-over-year—led by purchases of skincare and haircare products and their more widespread availability, including on Amazon AMZN 0.00%↑ and in retail chains such as Sephora and Ulta ULTA 0.00%↑.
Kim currently is fully focused on her new endeavor called “Clöud Café,” and on educating K-beauty fans on K-beauty’s holistic approach that seeks to boost beauty and health from the inside out.
“K-beauty isn’t just about topical. There’s a lot more nuance to it,” she said.
While the skincare and cosmetics part of K-beauty has ballooned into a fast-growing multi-billion-dollar slice of the US beauty industry, K-Wellness is still in its infancy.
“If I had to put a number on it, we’ve seen maybe 5% to 10% of K-Wellness coming to the US so far,” Kim said.
With that in mind, Kim launched Clöud Café, a line of hydrolyzed, marine collagen-infused flavored instant coffees and teas, and Collagen Gummies by Clöud Café, (a line of marine collagen-infused gummies) in 2024.
“After being in the K-beauty world for so long, I really had tried everything on my face,” said Kim. “I realized at that point that what was on the outside is also a reflection of what is going on on the inside connected to what I was eating, supplements I was taking and my other consumption habits.”
“Long story short, I created Clöud Café connecting two of my most functionally necessary things, collagen and my other love, coffee,” she said.
After about a year invested in research and development, and testing more than 150 formulas, Clöud Café rolled out into Ulta stores in March this year within the Wellness by Ulta Beauty section of curated products that focus on inner health. The brand also entered and Target TGT 0.00%↑ in early May.
The products include black coffee, strawberry matcha latte, royal milk tea, matcha latte, strawberry milk zero, vanilla latte, and hot choco zero, priced at $14 for a 10-pack of black coffee and $14 for a 7-pack of all other flavors.
The brand is also available on Amazon and specialty Asian products stores.
“I’m a huge advocate of collagen as an anti-aging supplement. I wanted to create a product that made collagen consumption very easy,” said Kim.
“I also drink an insane amount of coffee a day. What’s surprising to a lot of people is that South Korea is one of the top manufacturers of instant coffee. I had this crazy idea of putting two and two together,” she said. “Clöud Café became that idea of creating an experience where you get a delectable drink and it can also help you in your glow-up phase.”
If they have any concerns about the ingredients, Kim said buyers of Clöud Café products (which are all manufactured in South Korea) can consult with their doctors “to be extra safe.”
Kim also teased more products coming from Clöud Café. “There’s so much more that we’re working on regarding new flavors, products and innovation,” she said. “We’re very excited.”
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