Hannaru pushes Korean indie beauty samples to Eurasian buyers in Istanbul

Hannaru is using BeautyEurasia 2026 in Istanbul to put Korean cosmetics directly into the hands of retailers and distributors from Turkey, the Balkans and Central Asia. The B2B platform is pairing its Naru Box sampling program with online listings so buyers can test products at the fair and keep sourcing after it ends.

Why it matters: - Buyers across Turkey, the Balkans and Central Asia often have fewer direct routes to Korean beauty brands than buyers in Western Europe or the U.S. - Hannaru is trying to shorten that path by letting trade buyers handle products in person at BeautyEurasia 2026 and then continue sourcing online. - The model matters for smaller Korean brands that do not have standing distribution in many overseas markets and may not justify a full trade-show booth.

What happened: - Hannaru is exhibiting at BeautyEurasia 2026 in Istanbul through Sept. 4 in the Korean pavilion at the Istanbul Expo Center. - The company is showing its Naru Box sampling program rather than taking orders on the floor. - Visitors at the stand can open full retail products, test them and then ask about wholesale terms. - In the show's first two days, Hannaru collected contact details from more than 140 retailers and distributors from 31 countries. - About half of those leads came from Turkey, with others from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Egypt, Nigeria and more than two dozen additional markets.

The details: - The Naru Box bundles full retail products from several Korean brands into a single tracked shipment so buyers can sample before meeting minimum order requirements. - Most of the brands in Hannaru's catalog are not represented in the hall at BeautyEurasia 2026. - Hannaru's sampling catalog currently includes 75 samples from 21 Korean brands. - Brands shown at the fair include Laboreve, with its Peach Microbiome line, and the skincare label LEPS. - Individual samples carry $11 to $66 in retail value. - A filled Naru Box can hold up to about $300 in retail product. - Most samples are free, and buyers pay one published flat shipping rate for the whole box instead of separate freight charges for each brand. - Every item shown at the stand is also listed at hannaru.com with the maker's specifications. - Buyers can scan a code at the counter, keep comparing products, message the brand manager directly and request the same samples after the fair closes. - Hannaru's broader catalog includes 513 products from more than 250 verified Korean brands across skincare, makeup, haircare, body care and fragrance. - Listings include volumes, packaging dimensions, HS codes, minimum order quantities and certification data supplied by the brand. - Buyers can filter products by import requirements that affect whether a product can enter their market.

Between the lines: - The approach gives small Korean brands trade-show visibility without the cost of a standalone booth, flights and uncertain floor traffic. - Hannaru is turning a short exhibition window into a longer sales funnel by linking physical sampling to a persistent digital catalog. - Sungjin Kim, Hannaru's CEO, framed the strategy as a way to let buyers hold the product and keep access to it after the exhibition ends. - BeautyEurasia's scale makes the show a useful landing point for that strategy. - The organizer says the 2025 edition drew 13,314 professional visitors from 114 countries and more than 600 hosted buyers from 69 countries.

What's next: - Retailers, distributors and e-commerce sellers can continue browsing the sample catalog and building boxes after the fair. - Hannaru's online platform will keep the products available for comparison, direct messaging and sampling requests beyond Istanbul. - The company's next test is whether fair-floor interest converts into repeat sourcing and wholesale orders once the event closes.

The bottom line: - Hannaru is betting that a physical sample table in Istanbul, backed by an online sourcing platform, can make Korean indie beauty easier to buy across Eurasia.