πŸ‡°πŸ‡· K-Beauty Program

The K-Beauty
LATAM Accelerator

A structured 6-month program that takes Korean beauty brands from zero Latin America presence to fully launched, legally compliant, and scaling on Mercado Libre β€” with Marea operating every step.

Apply to the Program See How It Works
🀝
KOTRA Recognized Partner
Korea Trade Promotion Agency Β· Mexico City Office
🏦
KEXIM Export Financing
Korean brands qualify for government-backed inventory financing
πŸ“‹
End-to-End Regulatory
COFEPRIS Β· ANVISA Β· INVIMA β€” all handled by Marea
Is This For You?

Built for Korean brands
ready to move

The accelerator is designed for Korean beauty brands that have proven product-market fit in Korea or the US, and are ready to enter Latin America β€” but don't have the team, regulatory expertise, or platform relationships to do it alone.

βœ…
Good fit
Korean beauty brand doing $500K–$20M annually. Skincare, cosmetics, haircare, or body care. Ready to ship inventory to Mexico. Interested in LATAM exclusivity arrangement.
⚠️
May need discussion
Brand with existing LATAM distributor relationships or brands already selling on MELI directly. Let's talk β€” we can often restructure.
❌
Not a fit (right now)
Pre-revenue brands or products with no manufacturing certification. Products containing ingredients with known COFEPRIS/ANVISA issues that can't be reformulated.
🎯
What makes us different from a broker

Brokers introduce you to distributors and walk away. We own and operate your MELI accounts, file your regulatory documents, run your ads, and manage your inventory β€” continuously. We earn when you sell.

πŸ’Ό
Consignment model β€” zero inventory risk

You ship inventory to our Mexico City 3PL. Title stays with you until sold. We pay you net-60 from sale date. If it doesn't sell in 90 days, we return it. You take on no financial risk to test the LATAM market.

πŸ”’
Exclusive representation

We never represent competing brands in your category in your markets. Your LATAM launch is protected.

The Program

Your 6-month
LATAM launch journey

1
Discovery & Fit Assessment
We analyze your product line for LATAM fit β€” pricing vs. MELI competition, category demand, top SKU selection, and regulatory feasibility. Free compliance pre-check on your top 5 ingredients.
Weeks 1–2
2
Agreement & Regulatory Sprint
Brand agreement signed. You grant power of attorney. We immediately begin COFEPRIS notification process for Mexico β€” ingredient audit, Spanish label redesign, technical file preparation, government submission.
Weeks 2–8
3
Inventory & Market Preparation
Brand ships first consignment to our Mexico City 3PL. We build Mercado Libre brand store, create Spanish listings for all approved SKUs, set pricing strategy, and begin creator seeding in our LATAM K-Beauty influencer network.
Weeks 6–10
4
Launch β€” Live on Mercado Libre Mexico
Products live on MELI. Mercado Ads campaigns activated via Impulso. Impulso dashboard goes live for brand. Monthly performance call begins. First sales within 2 weeks of going live in most cases.
Month 3
5
Optimize & Prove the Model
Months 3–5: ACoS optimization, listing A/B testing, review generation strategy, inventory reorder cadence. Monthly reporting. We identify the top-performing SKUs for expansion.
Months 3–5
6
Country Expansion Plan
Once Mexico proves the model, we present a Colombia and Chile expansion plan β€” INVIMA registration is faster and cheaper than COFEPRIS. Brazil (ANVISA) runs on a parallel track started in Month 2.
Month 6+
What's included on Day 1
β†’ Dedicated LATAM marketplace manager
β†’ COFEPRIS compliance specialist
β†’ Performance marketing manager
β†’ Spanish/Portuguese content writer
β†’ Full Impulso platform access
β†’ KOTRA introduction support
Program Economics
Launch fee (Mexico) $15,000 USD
Regulatory package (Mexico) $8,000 USD
Ongoing commission 20% of GMV
Ads management fee 15% of ad spend
Brand revenue share 65–70% of GMV
Example: Month 6 Economics Brand ships $20K cost value of inventory.
You sell $50K GMV (2.5Γ— markup is standard K-Beauty).
MELI pays Marea: ~$41K (after 18% MELI fees).
Brand receives: $32.5K (65% of $50K) at net-60.
Marea keeps: $8.5K operating margin.
Accelerator Alumni

Brands that made
the leap

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

"Marea got us COFEPRIS-approved and live on Mercado Libre in 54 days. We were at $0 in LATAM in January β€” we did $38K GMV in Mexico in our first full month. The Impulso dashboard makes it easy to track everything."

이
Ji-Young Lee
CEO, Lumière Seoul · Cohort 1
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

"The consignment model was the reason we said yes. Zero risk to test the market. We shipped 500 units, they sold out in 6 weeks, and we reordered 3Γ— bigger. Now we're expanding to Colombia."

λ°•
Min-Jun Park
Head of Global, Botanica Korea Β· Cohort 1
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

"KOTRA introduced us to Marea. We were skeptical about LATAM β€” the regulatory complexity looked impossible. Marea made it completely turnkey. Our products are now registered in Mexico and Colombia."

κΉ€
So-Yeon Kim
Founder, Glow Origin Β· Cohort 2
FAQ

Common questions

No. Most of our brands have zero Latin America presence when they apply. That's exactly what the accelerator is designed for. You need a proven product and the ability to ship inventory to Mexico City. We handle everything else.
Marea owns and operates the MELI accounts. This is standard in LATAM distribution β€” it gives us full operational control to optimize performance. If you ever end the relationship, you can purchase the account transfer (with all its review history and sales rank) for a transfer fee. The reviews and sales history your brand builds are yours to keep.
Under the consignment model, if any SKU hasn't sold in 90 days, we return unsold inventory to you (split shipping cost). You're never stuck with a market that doesn't work. This is why we do the fit assessment first β€” we only take brands we genuinely believe will sell.
Mexico requires a "NotificaciΓ³n Sanitaria" for cosmetics β€” not a full drug registration, but it's still complex. We file under Marea's licensed Responsable Sanitario. You sign a power of attorney and provide your ingredient lists and GMP certificates. We handle all submissions, track status, and respond to COFEPRIS queries. Most notifications complete in 30–90 days.
It depends on the arrangement. If your existing distributor is active on Mercado Libre, there may be a conflict. If they're physical retail only, we can often complement that. Apply and tell us the situation β€” we'll give you an honest assessment.
We limit each cohort to 5–8 brands to ensure each gets dedicated attention from our team. We accept brands on a rolling basis but have capacity constraints. Apply early β€” we maintain a waitlist.
πŸ‡°πŸ‡· K-Beauty Program

LATAM is waiting.
Apply today.

We accept 5–8 brands per cohort. Next cohort begins in 30 days. Apply now for a free fit assessment β€” no commitment required.

Free assessment Β· 5 business day response Β· No commitment