Kolmar Korea Aims to Capture Global Skincare Market with "Uniquely Korean" Cleansers and Facial Masks
The global market for cleansers and facial masks has recently seen rapid growth, fueled in part by short-form video platforms like TikTok. Notably, the "Korean skincare routine" has become a major beauty keyword, prompting consumer interest to expand beyond sun care into cleansing and masking products.
In response, Kolmar Korea is accelerating its global push by collaborating with brand partners to develop skincare products featuring natural Korean ingredients. A standout example is the Mung Bean pH-Balanced Cleansing Foam, co-developed with skincare brand Beplain. This product reimagines mung beans—used in Korea as a natural cleanser for over 1,000 years—with a low-irritation formula and powerful cleansing effects. With more than 10 million units sold, it has been well-received in markets including the U.S., France, China, and Vietnam, gaining international traction through organic social media buzz.
Kolmar is also advancing the development of natural mud-based facial masks. The Relief Mud Mask, created in partnership with natural mud cosmetics brand BRMUD, features over 30% Boryeong mud—sourced from one of the world's five largest tidal flats in Korea. It utilizes ultra-fine powder particles—1/40th the size of wheat flour—to gently yet effectively absorb impurities. Nicknamed the " Cardi B Mud Mask" after the American singer praised it on TikTok, the product is now sold in 11 countries, including at Costco stores in the U.S.
Driving these innovations is Kolmar Korea's industry-leading R&D capability. More than 30% of the company's workforce are researchers, and roughly 6% of annual sales are invested in R&D. The company's competitive edge is rooted in expertise built from collaborations with approximately 4,300 global clients.
Kolmar continues to pioneer the discovery of unique Korean cosmetic ingredients. Recently, it scientifically validated the anti-aging effects of Spiraea Salicifolia, publishing the findings in an international SCI-level journal, and secured the ingredient's listing in the International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary (ICID). Last year, the company identified the hair-loss prevention benefits of Sophora flavescens extract, a legume, and presented the research at an international academic conference, gaining widespread attention. Kolmar is also commercializing the scents of native Korean plants such as the Rose of Sharon and lotus to promote the sensory value of traditional Korean botanicals.
A Kolmar Korea spokesperson stated, "As global interest in K-beauty expands beyond sun care into holistic skincare, we're enhancing our market competitiveness by combining advanced technology with Korea's natural treasures. Through continuous R&D investment and innovation, we aim to lead the global skincare routine with uniquely Korean ingredients."
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We will continue to assess capital needs within our facilities and prioritize projects that have shorter term paybacks as well as those that are required to maintain efficient and reliable operations. Economic Conditions Evolving global and Canadian foreign policies, geopolitical events and economic conditions may impact inflation, energy pricing, labour availability, supply chain efficiency, trade policies, tariffs and/or other items, which may have a direct or indirect impact on the Corporation's business. The Corporation's Credit Facility is subject to floating interest rates and, therefore, is subject to fluctuations in interest rates which are beyond the Corporation's control. Changes in interest rates, both domestically and internationally, could negatively affect the Corporation's cost of financing its operations and investments. Uncertainty about judgments, estimates and assumptions made by management during the preparation of the Corporation's consolidated financial statements related to potential impacts of geopolitical events and changing interest rates on revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, and note disclosures could result in a material adjustment to the carrying value of the asset or liability affected. 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In 2024, the Corporation modified its definition of Adjusted EBITDA. As K-Bro actively pursues its growth opportunities, the Corporation will continue to incur certain transaction, transition, syndication/structural financing costs. In this context, management believes Adjusted EBITDA assists investors to assess our performance on a consistent basis as it is an indication of our capacity to generate income from operations. Adjusting items are detailed in the tables within "Terminology". With the completion of the Stellar Mayan acquisition, management's near-term focus is on business integration. However, K-Bro evaluates potential strategic acquisitions that may complement its platform. Over the medium and longer-term, management sees opportunities to accelerate growth in North America, Europe, and similar geographies which remain highly fragmented. K-Bro will look to leverage its strong liquidity position, balance sheet and access to the capital markets to execute on these opportunities, should they arise. For further information about the impact of other economic factors on our business, see the "Summary of Interim Results and Key Events". CORPORATE PROFILE K-Bro is the largest owner and operator of laundry and linen processing facilities in Canada and a national market leader for laundry and textile rental services in the UK. K‑Bro and its wholly-owned subsidiaries operate across Canada and the UK, providing a range of linen services to healthcare institutions, hotels and other commercial accounts that include the processing, management and distribution of general linen and operating room linen. The Corporation's operations in Canada include eleven processing facilities and two distribution centres in ten Canadian cities: Québec City, Montréal, Toronto, Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria. The Corporation's operations in the UK include five distinctive brands, Fishers Topco Ltd. ("Fishers") which was acquired by K-Bro on November 27, 2017, Shortridge Ltd. ("Shortridge"), which was acquired by K-Bro on April 30, 2024, and three brands acquired through the acquisition of Stellar Mayan Ltd. ("Stellar Mayan") on June 11, 2025, previously known as Star Mayan Limited. The three brands acquired were Synergy Health Managed Services Limited ("Synergy"), Aeroserve (MSP) Limited and Aeroserve Euro Limited, jointly referred to as Aeroserve Linen ("Aeroserve"), and Grosvenor Contracts (London) Limited ("Grosvenor Contracts", "GC"). Fishers was established in 1900 and is an operator of laundry and linen processing facilities in Scotland, providing linen rental, workwear hire and cleanroom garment services to the hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing and pharmaceutical sectors. Fishers' client base includes major hotel chains and prestigious venues across Scotland and the North of England. The company operates in five cities, in Scotland and the North of England with facilities in Cupar, Perth, Newcastle, Livingston and Coatbridge. Shortridge is headquartered in North West England, with laundry processing sites in Lillyhall and Dumfries and a distribution centre in Darlington. Shortridge, established in 1845, specialises in providing high quality laundry services to local independent hospitality businesses, including hotels, B&Bs, self-catering units and restaurants. Stellar Mayan, doing business as Synergy, Grosvenor Contracts and AeroServe, is a leading commercial laundry business in England, serving the healthcare and hospitality markets. Typical services offered include processing, management and distribution of healthcare and hospitality linens, including sheets, blankets, towels, surgical gowns and other linen. Stellar Mayan has seven operating facilities strategically located across England: Bermondsey, Derby, Dunstable, Sheffield, Slough (2), and St. Helens, in addition to a distribution depot in Manchester. Additional information regarding the Corporation including required securities filings are available on our website at and on the Canadian Securities Administrators' website at the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR +"). TERMINOLOGY Throughout this news release and other documents referred to herein, and in order to provide a better understanding of the financial results, K-Bro uses the terms "EBITDA", "adjusted EBITDA", "adjusted net earnings", "adjusted net earnings per share", "debt to total capital", "distributable cash" and "payout ratio". These terms do not have any standardized meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS Accounting Standards") as set out in the CICA Handbook. Therefore, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net earnings, adjusted net earnings per share, distributable cash and payout ratio may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Specifically, the terms "EBITDA", "adjusted EBITDA", "adjusted net earnings", "adjusted net earnings per share", "distributable cash", and "payout ratio" have been defined as follows: EBITDA EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) comprises revenues less operating costs before financing costs, capital asset and intangible asset amortization, and income taxes. EBITDA is a sub‑total presented within the statement of earnings. EBITDA is not considered an alternative to net earnings in measuring K‑Bro's performance. EBITDA should not be used as an exclusive measure of cash flow since it does not account for the impact of working capital changes, capital expenditures, debt changes and other sources and uses of cash, which are disclosed in the consolidated statements of cash flows. Non-GAAP Measures Adjusted EBITDA K‑Bro reports Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) as a key measure used by management to evaluate performance. We believe Adjusted EBITDA assists investors to assess our performance on a consistent basis as it is an indication of our capacity to generate income from operations before taking into account management's financing decisions as well as costs of acquiring tangible and intangible capital assets. The Corporation modified its definition for Adjusted EBITDA in 2024 and has updated its comparative quarters to reflect the modified definition. "Adjusted EBITDA" is EBITDA (defined above) with the addition or deduction of certain amounts incurred which management does not consider indicative of ongoing operating performance. This includes transaction costs, structural finance costs, transition and integration costs, restructuring costs, gains/losses on settlement of contingent consideration and any other non-recurring transactions. The Corporation believes these non-GAAP definitions provide more meaningful reflections of normalized financial performance from operations and will enhance period-over-period comparability. 1 Relates to legal, professional and consulting fee expenditures made related to acquisitions. 2 Relates to costs related to syndication and credit agreement restructuring costs. 3 Relates to transition costs incurred as a result of the Corporation's acquisitions. 4 Relates to non-recurring gain of $1,519 from the sale of the Granby facility and a gain of $571 related to a one-time gain on a customer contract. 1 Relates to legal, professional and consulting fee expenditures made related to acquisitions. 2 Relates to costs related to syndication and credit agreement restructuring costs. 3 Relates to transition costs incurred as a result of the Corporation's acquisitions. 4 Relates to non-recurring gain of $1,519 from the sale of the Granby facility and a gain of $571 related to a one-time gain on a customer contract. Adjusted Net Earnings and Adjusted Earnings per Share Adjusted Net Earnings and Adjusted Earnings per Share are non-GAAP measures. These non-GAAP measures are defined to exclude certain amounts which management does not consider indicative of ongoing operating performance. This includes transaction costs, structural finance costs, transition and integration costs, restructuring costs, gains/losses on settlement of contingent consideration and any other non-recurring transactions. The Corporation believes these non-GAAP definitions provide more meaningful reflections of normalized financial performance from operations and will enhance period-over-period comparability. Three Months Ended June 30, Canadian Division UK Division Canadian Division UK Division (thousands) 2025 2025 2025 2024 2024 2024 Net Earnings $ 2,852 $ 2,567 $ 5,419 $ 1,775 $ 2,760 $ 4,535 Adjusting Items: Transaction Costs 1 2,412 1,971 4,383 654 417 1,071 Syndication/Structural Finance Costs 2 52 - 52 392 - 392 Transition Costs 3 - - - 211 - 211 Non-recurring gains 4 (2,090) - (2,090) - - - Adjusted Net Earnings $ 3,226 $ 4,538 $ 7,764 $ 3,032 $ 3,177 $ 6,209 Six Months Ended June 30, Canadian Division UK Division Canadian Division UK Division (thousands) 2025 2025 2025 2024 2024 2024 Net Earnings $ 3,698 $ 2,547 $ 6,245 $ 3,454 $ 2,887 $ 6,341 Adjusting Items: Transaction Costs 1 3,900 2,640 6,540 683 508 1,191 Syndication/Structural Finance Costs 2 484 - 484 1,892 - 1,892 Transition Costs 3 - - - 420 - 420 Non-recurring gains 4 (2,090) - (2,090) - - - Adjusted Net Earnings $ 5,992 $ 5,187 $ 11,179 $ 6,449 $ 3,395 $ 9,844 1 Relates to legal, professional and consulting fee expenditures made related to acquisitions. 2 Relates to costs related to syndication and credit agreement restructuring costs. 3 Relates to transition costs incurred as a result of the Corporation's acquisitions. 4 Relates to non-recurring gain of $1,519 from the sale of the Granby facility and a gain of $571 related to a one-time gain on a customer contract. 1 Relates to legal, professional and consulting fee expenditures made related to acquisitions. 2 Relates to costs related to syndication and credit agreement restructuring costs. 3 Relates to transition costs incurred as a result of the Corporation's acquisitions. 4 Relates to non-recurring gain of $1,519 from the sale of the Granby facility and a gain of $571 related to a one-time gain on a customer contract. 1 Relates to legal, professional and consulting fee expenditures made related to acquisitions. 2 Relates to costs related to syndication and credit agreement restructuring costs. 3 Relates to transition costs incurred as a result of the Corporation's acquisitions. 4 Relates to non-recurring gain of $1,519 from the sale of the Granby facility and a gain of $571 related to a one-time gain on a customer contract. 1 Relates to legal, professional and consulting fee expenditures made related to acquisitions. 2 Relates to costs related to syndication and credit agreement restructuring costs. 3 Relates to transition costs incurred as a result of the Corporation's acquisitions. 4 Relates to non-recurring gain of $1,519 from the sale of the Granby facility and a gain of $571 related to a one-time gain on a customer contract. 1 Relates to legal, professional and consulting fee expenditures made related to acquisitions. 2 Relates to costs related to syndication and credit agreement restructuring costs. 3 Relates to transition costs incurred as a result of the Corporation's acquisitions. 4 Relates to non-recurring gain of $1,519 from the sale of the Granby facility and a gain of $571 related to a one-time gain on a customer contract. Distributable Cash Flow Distributable cash flow is a measure used by management to evaluate the Corporation's performance. While the closest IFRS Accounting Standards measure is cash provided by operating activities, distributable cash flow is considered relevant because it provides an indication of how much cash generated by operations is available after capital expenditures. It should be noted that although we consider this measure to be distributable cash flow, financial and non‑financial covenants in our credit facilities and dealer agreements may restrict cash from being available for dividends, re‑investment in the Corporation, potential acquisitions, or other purposes. Investors should be cautioned that distributable cash flow may not actually be available for growth or distribution from the Corporation. Management refers to "Distributable cash flow" as to cash provided by (used in) operating activities with the addition of net changes in non‑cash working capital items, less share‑based compensation, maintenance capital expenditures and principal elements of lease payments. Payout Ratio "Payout ratio" is defined by management as the actual cash dividend divided by distributable cash. This is a key measure used by investors to value K-Bro, assess its performance and provide an indication of the sustainability of dividends. The payout ratio depends on the distributable cash and the Corporation's dividend policy. Debt to Total Capital "Debt to total capital" is defined by management as the total long‑term debt (excludes lease liabilities) divided by the Corporation's total capital. This is a measure used by investors to assess the Corporation's financial structure. Distributable cash flow, payout ratio, debt to total capital adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net earnings, and adjusted net earnings per share are not calculations based on IFRS Accounting Standards and are not considered an alternative to IFRS Accounting Standards measures in measuring K‑Bro's performance. Distributable cash Flow, payout ratio, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net earnings, and adjusted net earnings per share do not have standardized meanings in IFRS Accounting Standards and are therefore not likely to be comparable with similar measures used by other issuers. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains forward‑looking information that represents internal expectations, estimates or beliefs concerning, among other things, future activities or future operating results and various components thereof. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", and similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events are intended to identify forward‑looking information. Statements regarding such forward‑looking information reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on management's estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause K-Bro's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from the forward-looking information contained in this news release. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: (i) risks associated with acquisitions, including (a) the possibility of undisclosed material liabilities, disputes or contingencies, (b) challenges or delays in achieving synergy and integration targets, (c) the diversion of management's time and focus from other business concerns and (d) the use of resources that may be needed in other parts of our business; (ii) K-Bro's competitive environment; (iii) utility costs, minimum wage legislation and labour costs; (iv) K-Bro's dependence on long-term contracts with the associated renewal risk and the risks associated with maintaining short term contracts; (v) increased capital expenditure requirements; (vi) reliance on key personnel; (vii) changing trends in government outsourcing; (viii) changes or proposed changes to minimum wage laws in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan and the United Kingdom (the "UK"); (ix) the availability and terms of future financing; * textile demand; (xi) availability and access to labour; (xii) rising wage rates in all jurisdictions the Corporation operates and (xiii) foreign currency risk. Material factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making an estimate set out in the forward-looking information include: (i) volumes and pricing assumptions; (ii) expected impact of labour cost initiatives; (iii) frequency of one-time costs impacting quarterly and annual financial results; (iv) foreign exchange rates; (v) the level of capital expenditures and (vi) the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Corporation. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Certain statements regarding forward-looking information included in this news release may be considered "financial outlook" for purposes of applicable securities laws, and such financial outlook may not be appropriate for purposes other than this news release. Forward looking information included in this news release includes the expected annual healthcare revenues to be generated from the Corporation's contracts with new customers, calculation of costs, including one-time costs impacting the quarterly financial results, anticipated future capital spending and statements with respect to future expectations on margins and volume growth. All forward‑looking information in this news release is qualified by these cautionary statements. Forward‑looking information in this news release is presented only as of the date made. Except as required by law, K‑Bro does not undertake any obligation to publicly revise these forward‑looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. This news release also makes reference to certain measures in this document that do not have any standardized meaning as prescribed by IFRS Accounting Standards and, therefore, are considered non‑GAAP measures. These measures may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Please see "Terminology" for further discussion.
