At 3 p.m. on the 13th, in front of the Art Hall at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul, more than 40 visitors waiting to enter stood in a long line. Upon entering the venue, another line continued inside. Visitors crowded around each of the 45th beauty brand booths. At every booth, experiential events were in full swing, with visitors spinning roulette wheels, solving quizzes, and trying out products. Each visitor carried Curry's signature purple bag over their shoulder, filling it with cosmetics and prizes.
This is a scene from "Curry Beauty Festa 2026," an offline beauty event that Curry is holding at DDP for four days, from the 12th to the 15th. Now in its third year, this year's event is themed "Making Your Every Day More Beautiful" and introduces 45 brands tailored to the flow of a day across time periods such as morning, afternoon, evening, and night.
This year's event focused on expanding the experiential space for each brand. While reducing the number of participating brands to about half that of the first event in 2024, the organizers expanded the space so that brands could sufficiently introduce their products.
In fact, brand companies attracted visitors' attention with various concepts. Booth staff introduced organic ingredients while wearing straw hats or promoted their brands by holding toothbrush models as tall as an adult man.
Behind the vibrant experiential spaces lay Curry's strategy to broaden sales channels for brands, extending the touchpoints between brands and consumers secured online into the offline realm. The makeup brand Amelie, participating for the first time this year, is a prime example. An official from Amelie explained, "We launched our lip gloss exclusively on Curry in July this year and received a positive response." The official added, "Two products that sold out at the time are being showcased again at this event, and we can also recommend new products to consumers, which led us to participate positively."
At the Amelie booth, an iris color diagnosis utilizing AI (artificial intelligence) drew attention. It is experiential content unique to offline settings that is difficult to experience online. When visitors connect to a QR code and photograph their iris color, the AI analyzes it. Based on the diagnosis results, visitors can receive recommendations for eyeliner shades that suit them, such as olive brown, dark brown, milk brown, and choco brown.
Consumers also expressed satisfaction with being able to experience brands they usually find difficult to access. Kim Seo-yoon (24), a university student, said, "I had been curious about derma and color cosmetics brands but couldn't buy them because the prices were burdensome, so I tried them directly." She added, "Even though I paid 25,000 won for an admission ticket, I received more benefits than that through the experiences, which makes me feel proud."
Curry is putting effort into offline beauty events to sustain the growth momentum of its beauty business secured online. In the third quarter this year, Beauty Curry's transaction value increased by 25% compared to the same period last year. Kim Go-eun, group leader of Curry's Brand Marketing Group, stated, "Curry Beauty Festa 2026 aims to provide customers with an intuitive and sensory beauty experience through curation across four time periods." She added, "We hope you will enjoy a special beauty journey through diverse booth events and the Curry Hall, where you can try Curry-exclusive products."
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