Kendall Jenner has been named the first global brand ambassador for Korean skincare label Anua, the brand announced Sunday in a multiyear deal that takes effect June 2, 2026. The partnership, reported first by WWD, centers on Anua’s PDRN Collagen Glow Facial Serum Spray and arrives as the U.S. tracks to overtake China as the world’s largest K-beauty market by mid-2026.
Campaign Details and SoHo Pop-Up Activation
The Kendall Jenner Anua global ambassador 2026 campaign rolls out across the brand’s digital and social channels starting June 2, anchored by the PDRN Collagen Glow Facial Serum Spray as the hero product. Anua’s agreement with Jenner is multiyear and encompasses future global campaigns and product launches, according to the brand.
To mark the launch, Anua is staging a “Dew on the Go” pop-up at a SoHo location in New York on June 6 and June 7. The activation includes product try-on stations, a photo booth, and a “Dew Café” — extending a 2026 pattern of beauty brands using downtown Manhattan as a physical launchpad, similar to Lisa Eldridge’s SoHo pop-up earlier this year.
“Anua is one of those brands that’s just stayed in my routine since the first time I tried it,” Jenner said in a statement provided by the brand. “It gives me that healthy glow while keeping my routine simple.”
Anua’s $500 Million Rise in the U.S. Market
Anua crossed $500 million in global retail sales in 2025, with the U.S. its single largest market, the company confirmed. The brand has sold more than 40 million units across 160 countries and is now distributed through over 20,000 U.S. retail doors. In 2024, Anua ranked as the No. 1 TikTok Shop U.S. beauty brand by single-brand revenue.
The trajectory tracks a broader category surge. The K-beauty segment in the United States grew 53% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025, per Euromonitor, and physical retail is accelerating alongside e-commerce — see Olive Young’s first U.S. store in Pasadena for a parallel indicator of the channel’s growth.
Anua was founded in 2019 by The Founders, the Korean parent company led by Lee Sunhyung and Lee Changjoo. The brand entered the U.S. market in 2022 and built initial momentum on TikTok before broadening into mass retail. TikTok’s growing role in fashion and beauty commerce remains central to the category: NielsenIQ data shows roughly 70% of K-beauty sales in the U.S. now happen online, with TikTok Shop as a primary conversion driver.
About the PDRN Collagen Glow Facial Serum Spray
The hero product at the center of the deal is a 3.38 fl oz (100ml) facial mist formulated with PDRN at 2,000 ppm, three forms of hyaluronic acid, hydrolyzed collagen, ceramide NP, and copper tripeptide-1. The product is positioned as accessible premium, retailing in the $40 range.
Clinical testing supplied by the brand shows the spray improved skin hydration by 30.754% and reduced skin temperature by 3.495°C in trial conditions. The mist is marketed as ultra-fine and non-sticky, suitable for all skin types. It is available at anua.com, Amazon, and Ulta Beauty.
PDRN — polydeoxyribonucleotide — has driven the most recent wave of K-beauty innovation in the U.S., moving from in-clinic injectable use into mass-market topical formulations over the past 18 months.
What the Deal Signals for K-Beauty’s Western Mainstream Push
Jenner, 30, already serves as a global ambassador for L’Oréal Paris, a fragrance ambassador for Emporio Armani, and an ambassador for Therabody, alongside her role as founder of 818 Tequila. The Anua deal places her among the most sought-after endorsers in the beauty category and signals a structural shift in how Korean brands enter the Western mass market.
“This partnership reflected genuine product love,” Anua CEO Seon Hyeong Yi said in the announcement, noting that Jenner’s connection with the brand predated the official deal — a framing similar to Zegna’s Ousmane Dembélé ambassador deal and other 2026 partnerships built around documented authentic use.
The strategic read is straightforward: TikTok virality alone is no longer enough to hold shelf space at U.S. mass retailers. K-beauty brands targeting sustained distribution at Ulta, Target, and Amazon are increasingly anchoring their U.S. push with Western mega-celebrity partnerships — a pattern also visible in Marc Jacobs Beauty’s Sephora relaunch earlier this year. The contrast with shorter-lived celebrity-brand cycles, such as Rihanna and PUMA’s Fenty partnership, underscores why multiyear ambassador deals are now the preferred structure.
Euromonitor projects the U.S. will surpass China as the world’s largest K-beauty market by mid-2026. Anua’s bet on Jenner is a direct attempt to claim premium positioning before that crossover hits.
