[Yongin (Gyeonggi) = E-Daily Reporter KYUNG GYEYOUNG ] “I don’t think there’s any other cosmetics manufacturer equipped with machinery that automatically assembles eyebrow product containers like this.”

On the 24th, at the Monami Cosmetics factory in Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, machinery in one corner of the filling room was assembling eyebrow container units in perfect unison. Kim Sang-beom, head of the Quality Control Team at Monami Cosmetics, held up an inner container designed in a triangular shape to fit the eyebrow pencil core and said, “Unlike round containers, triangular ones require precise alignment during assembly, so it took six months just to develop the equipment in-house.” He proudly added, “Monami Cosmetics is capable of producing the entire process, from the cosmetic contents to the containers.”

Monami Cosmetics opened its factory to the public for the first time, three years after launching its cosmetics manufacturing business. Monami Cosmetics is a cosmetics OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) company established in January 2023 by Monami(005360), a company well-known for its ballpoint pens.

The Yongin factory, a five-story facility spanning 10,250 square meters (3,100 pyeong), is equipped with facilities optimized for quality, safety, and production efficiency. Its annual production capacity (CAPA) stands at 45 million units, translating to sales of 30 billion won. Considering that last year’s sales were 3.9 billion won, the company has proactively secured a production capacity nearly 10 times that figure.

As a latecomer to the industry, Monami Cosmetics’ competitive edge lies in its color cosmetics and packaging. The company has inherited the color expertise and precision injection molding technology for plastics that its parent company, Monami, accumulated through the production of writing instruments and printer ink cartridges. Etude’s “Drawing Eyebrow Pencil Pro,” famous for its triangular tip, is a flagship product that showcases Monami Cosmetics’ technological expertise. The company handled everything in-house—from the product itself to the container design and production—as part of a “turnkey” (comprehensive development) supply arrangement. Within three months, the number of units shipped exceeded 1.8 million.

Another source of confidence is quality control. The company is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment capable of detecting harmful substances such as benzene, heavy metals, mercury, formaldehyde, and chromium. This is to ensure rigorous management of product quality, which directly impacts consumers. Team Leader Kim Sang-beom explained, “We collect samples at both the bulk and finished product stages to test for harmful substances such as microorganisms and heavy metals,” adding, “We are so thorough that we even test the first production batch even if the supplier does not require it.”

Monami Cosmetics is seeking to expand its production beyond lip and eye makeup to include base makeup—such as foundation—and sun care products. To this end, CEO Park Kyung-hyun, who took the helm of Monami Cosmetics in February of last year, reorganized the company with a focus on research and innovation (R&I), production, and quality.

CEO Park Kyung-hyun emphasized, “We are investing in R&I to respond more quickly to trends, developing proprietary formulas and introducing new formulations to our clients.” He added, “We have prepared our manufacturing competitiveness and R&D capabilities to meet the demands of the global market, and we are achieving meaningful results by collaborating with major clients based at our Yongin plant.” He added, “Although we are a latecomer to the market, our ability to rapidly produce a wide variety of products in small batches is our unique competitive advantage.”