Who Owns Numbuzin? BENOW, the Korean Company Behind fwee and the No.3 Serum

From numbuzin's Amazon brand store page: numbuzin No.3 Skin Softening Serum, 1.69 fl ozAffiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, EpicKor earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Quick Answer

Is numbuzin Korean? Yes. numbuzin (넘버즈인) is run from Seoul by BENOW Inc. (주식회사 비나우), whose head office is on the 4th and 14th floors of GT Tower East, 411 Seocho-daero, Seocho-gu. BENOW is named as the responsible seller on the Korean product notices for both numbuzin and fwee, and every product we checked lists Korea as the country of manufacture.

Who owns numbuzin? BENOW is a private company controlled by two individuals. At the end of 2025, Lee Il-ju (이일주) held 33.8% and Kim Dae-young (김대영) held 33.1%, according to note 1 of BENOW's audited 2025 accounts on DART, Korea's corporate disclosure system. Together that is 66.9%. Venture and private-equity funds managed by IMM and V One hold smaller stakes. No large conglomerate and no foreign company appears among the named shareholders (the other 20.7% is not itemised).

Is fwee the same company as numbuzin? Yes. The makeup brand fwee (퓌), known for its Lip & Cheek pudding pots, is sold by the same BENOW Inc.; the fwee and numbuzin online stores carry the same company name, business registration number (833-87-01017) and address in their footers.

How big is it? BENOW reported ₩325.0 billion (about $244 million) of consolidated revenue and ₩67.1 billion (about $50 million) of operating profit in 2025. Revenue rose 22% from 2024, but operating profit fell 11%. 55% of revenue came from outside Korea.

This is a public-information company spotlight. EpicKor has no relationship with BENOW, numbuzin or fwee, and nothing here is investment advice. Won figures come from audit reports on DART unless a press source is named. Dollar figures use ₩1,333.99 to the dollar, the US Federal Reserve's rate for 30 October 2026 (FRED series DEXKOUS), and are rounded.

Quick Guide: numbuzin's Company At A Glance

Who Owns BENOW, Year By Year

BENOW has filed audited accounts on DART only since its 2023 financial year, so the shareholder record starts at the end of 2022. The table below copies the named holders from note 1 of each year's audit report. Holders below the threshold each report uses are grouped as "others".

Three things stand out.

Control has stayed with the same two people. Kim Dae-young was the largest shareholder from 2022 to 2024. During 2025 his holding fell by 13,449 shares, to 33.1%, and Lee Il-ju became the largest shareholder with 33.8%. The two together have held between 67% and 73% throughout. The report does not say who bought Kim's shares. The three IMM funds are named in the table for the first time at the end of 2025 (Dealsite reports IMM bought about 1.5% in November 2023, below the reporting threshold earlier); the filing does not link their holding to any seller, and we do not either.

The investors bought existing shares, not new ones. BENOW's share count went from 250,000 to 254,888 over three years, and the audit reports attribute the increase to employees exercising stock options (1,148 shares in 2025, for example). No new shares were sold to the funds. That fits the line on BENOW's own recruiting page, which says it reached ₩325 billion of 2025 revenue "외부 투자 없이" (without outside investment): which suggests the funds' money went to selling shareholders rather than into the company. Dealsite reported in May 2025 that IMM Investment bought about 1.5% in November 2023 and that V One Capital Partners bought 3.7% in August 2024, which matches the 2.3% plus 1.4% V One holding in the 2024 table.

CEO signatures changed in 2025. The statements for 2023 and 2024 were signed by "대표이사 이일주, 김대영", two co-CEOs. The 2025 statements, filed on 31 March 2026, carry Lee Il-ju's name alone, and both online stores now list Lee as the representative. The filings do not explain the change, and we found no Korean press report on it.

How Big BENOW Has Grown

BENOW was founded in August 2018 "for the purpose of manufacturing and selling cosmetics", in the words of its audit report. Dealsite put its 2019 revenue at ₩0.7 billion. Six years later the company was booking more than ₩300 billion a year.

Margins are EpicKor calculations. The 2022 and 2023 rows are for BENOW alone because it did not publish consolidated accounts for those years; its subsidiaries were small at the time. Accounting standards changed from Korean GAAP to K-IFRS from 2024, so the rows are not perfectly comparable. Under K-IFRS the unaudited 2023 consolidated comparative shows operating profit of ₩23.8 billion (20.9% margin), against ₩27.1 billion under Korean GAAP. The 2024 regional split is taken from the FY2025 comparative; the FY2024 report's own regional totals differ from its income statement by about ₩0.4 billion.

Revenue more than doubled in 2024 and then grew another 22% in 2025. Profit did not follow in 2025. Operating profit dropped from ₩75.1 billion to ₩67.1 billion, and the margin fell from 28.2% to 20.6%. IB Tomato, a Korean capital-markets outlet, summed it up in an October 2026 headline: sales jumped but profit went backwards.

Where the 2025 profit went

The cost lines in note 25 of the 2025 consolidated report show where the money went:

Percentage changes are EpicKor calculations.

Advertising alone took 11.7% of 2025 revenue. Selling costs grew about 1.8 times as fast as sales. Part of the gap sits in the subsidiaries: BENOW on its own reported ₩73.8 billion of operating profit in 2025, against ₩67.1 billion for the whole group, so the subsidiaries and consolidation adjustments subtracted roughly ₩6.8 billion. The US subsidiary, for one, lost ₩2.1 billion on ₩2.5 billion of sales (see below).

Cash: better than the profit line

The cash flow statement tells a different story from the income statement. Operating cash flow was ₩87.0 billion in 2025, against ₩18.0 billion in 2024. Cash and cash equivalents rose from ₩34.1 billion to ₩76.8 billion, and the company repaid all ₩10 billion of its short-term borrowing.

Much of that came from inventory. Finished-goods stock had ballooned in 2024, from ₩12.9 billion at the start of the year to ₩67.2 billion at the end, as BENOW built up finished-goods stock. In 2025 it sold more than it made, and total inventory fell from ₩71.4 billion to ₩52.2 billion. IB Tomato made the same point: a large part of the cash improvement came from money that had been tied up in stock being released. That is a one-off. It will not repeat at the same size unless inventory falls again.

BENOW also started paying out. It paid ₩10.0 billion of dividends in 2025, ten times the ₩1.0 billion of 2024. Note 32 says ₩7.2 billion of the 2025 total went to key management (주요경영진), against ₩0.7 billion in 2024.

Where numbuzin and fwee Sell: 55% Outside Korea

Note 23 of the audit reports splits revenue by region:

The 2023 split is an unaudited comparative in the FY2024 consolidated report. Shares are EpicKor calculations.

The reports do not break "outside Korea" down by country, but the subsidiary summaries show where the biggest piece is.

Japan is the largest single market we can see. BENOW JAPAN INC., wholly owned since BENOW bought the last 10% in 2024, sold ₩77.5 billion (about $58 million) in 2025, up 76% from ₩44.0 billion. That one subsidiary accounted for about 24% of group revenue. It made a ₩2.6 billion net profit. BENOW JAPAN's careers page names numbuzin, fwee and RIAH as its brands and lists a Qoo10 award (Qoo10 BEST K-COSME AWARD, cleansing category) and an Olive Young Awards pick among its credentials. Its listed workplace is Shinjuku Island Tower in Tokyo.

The US subsidiary is still small and loss-making. BENOW BEAUTY INC., set up in 2024, sold ₩2.5 billion (about $1.9 million) in 2025 and lost ₩2.1 billion. That is not the same as numbuzin's US sales: the report does not show how much BENOW in Seoul sells directly to US customers. The Amazon US listing for the No.3 serum carries a "Visit the numbuzin Store" byline.

China has a subsidiary but no sales. BENOW CHINA INC. reported no revenue in 2024 or 2025.

Two customers buy a third of everything. Note 23 also lists every external customer worth more than 10% of revenue. In 2025 there were two: "Company A" with ₩59.2 billion (18.2% of revenue) and "Company B" with ₩47.4 billion (14.6%). The letters are reassigned between reports, so we do not compare them year to year. The FY2024 report listed three customers above 10% of revenue. The report does not name them, and we could not confirm who they are.

Outside the filings, BENOW's recruiting page says it exports to about 14 countries. Dealsite reported the same figure in May 2025, naming the US, Japan and Europe among them.

What the Numbers on the Bottles Mean

numbuzin's line-up is organised by number. The Korean online store sorts products by skin concern, each with its own number:

The store also sells products numbered 2, 4 and 6, but these four are the ones it uses as menu headings. The menu also links to separate US and Japanese stores.

Korean prices, checked 3 November 2026

Prices are from the official numbuzin and fwee Korean online stores on 3 November 2026, before shipping (₩3,000, free over ₩20,000 on the numbuzin store). Korean online beauty prices change often, and the "store price" is usually a standing discount from the list price. Amazon prices are not shown; check the listing.

Who Makes numbuzin and fwee

BENOW does not make its products itself. The official product notices on its Korean stores list a manufacturer (제조업자) and a responsible seller (책임판매업자) for each item; BENOW is the responsible seller, and the manufacturer is another company. The notices we checked on 3 November 2026 name five different Korean contract manufacturers:

COSMAX, which makes the most products on this list, is the Korean beauty ODM covered in our COSMAX deep dive.

This is the standard model for the current wave of K-beauty brands. The brand company owns the formula brief, the packaging, the marketing and the distribution, and pays specialists to make the product. It keeps the balance sheet light. It also means the brand's advantage is in product planning and marketing, not in a factory a competitor cannot copy. That is one reason advertising is among BENOW's fastest-growing cost lines.

The audit report says the same thing in accounting terms. Note 26 shows ₩94.8 billion of raw materials used in 2025, and BENOW owns ₩10.9 billion of property, plant and equipment, a small figure for a company of its revenue.

The IPO: Planned for 2026, Now 2027–2028

BENOW has been talking about a stock-market listing for at least a year and a half, and the target has moved.

The 2025 result came in at about two-thirds of the ₩500 billion target reported in May 2025. That gap, and the lower margin, are the context for the later listing window. Valuation figures in the Korean press are market estimates, not prices anyone has paid in a public offering.

Why People Ask "Is numbuzin Korean?"

Google's autocomplete suggests "is numbuzin korean", "who owns numbuzin" and "is numbuzin popular in korea". For fwee it suggests "is fwee korean" and "is fwee a korean brand". There are a few reasons the question comes up.

• The names do not sound Korean. "numbuzin" and "fwee" are coined words, written in lower case, with no Korean word in either.
• The brands grew abroad fast. By 2025 more than half of BENOW's revenue came from outside Korea, and Japan alone was about a quarter.
• The company name is unrelated to the brand names. Nothing in "numbuzin" or "fwee" points to BENOW, so a search for the brand rarely surfaces the company behind it.

The answer is the same for both brands. They are Korean, made in Korea by Korean manufacturers, sold by a Seoul company whose largest shareholders are two Korean individuals.

And is numbuzin popular in Korea? BENOW's domestic revenue was ₩146.3 billion in 2025, up from ₩61.6 billion in 2023. Korean sales have grown strongly too, just more slowly than sales abroad. That is a measure of money, not of rank; we did not find an official Korean market-share figure for the brand.

What the Filings Do Not Tell You

• Revenue by brand. The reports do not split numbuzin from fwee, Knock or RIAH. Any brand-level revenue figure you see is an estimate.
• Who the two big customers are. Companies A and B are not named.
• Who sold shares in 2025. The table shows Kim Dae-young's holding down 13,449 shares and Lee Il-ju's up 2,221; transfers are not itemised.
• Whether every reported deal closed. Dealsite reported in May 2025 that IMM put ₩30 billion more into BENOW shares through a blind fund and that V One bought ₩30 billion more through a project fund with LB Private Equity. At the end of 2025 the two V One vehicles in the table are unchanged at 3.7%, and no LB Private Equity or V One project fund appears among the named holders. The report does not say whether that purchase happened under another name, below the reporting threshold, or not at all.
• Why the co-CEO signature changed. The 2025 accounts are signed by Lee Il-ju alone.
• Country-by-country sales outside Japan. Only the subsidiary figures are visible.

One more point for anyone reading the older filings: BENOW's first audit, for 2023, originally came with a qualified opinion in March 2024, because the auditor (Dasan Accounting, 다산회계법인) was appointed on 1 April 2023 and could not observe the opening inventory count. In November 2024 the auditor reissued the report with a clean opinion after obtaining "sufficient and appropriate audit evidence" for that inventory, and said the earlier report could no longer be used. The 2022 figures were never audited. This is a common issue for a fast-growing company's first audit, but it is why we mark the 2022 row as unaudited.

What This Means For Shoppers And Buyers

For shoppers. numbuzin and fwee are Korean brands from an independent Korean company, not a subsidiary of Amorepacific, LG H&H or any foreign group. The products sold in Korea are made in Korea by contract manufacturers named on each notice. Korean store prices for the core serums and toners sit between about ₩18,000 and ₩27,000 after the standing discount. Sizes and names can differ between the Korean store and foreign listings, as the 30 mL and 50 mL No.3 serums show, so compare the size before comparing the price.

For overseas retailers and distributors. The contracting company is BENOW Inc. in Seoul. The numbuzin store footer gives a dedicated export address (sales@benow.co.kr) for overseas enquiries. In Japan the brands are run through BENOW JAPAN in Tokyo.

For Korean SMEs. BENOW shows how far a brand company can go without a factory: from ₩59 billion to ₩325 billion of revenue in three years, about 55% of it abroad, with outside funds buying only existing shares. It also shows the limit. When growth comes from marketing and other companies' factories, profit depends on how much the marketing costs, and in 2025 that cost grew faster than sales. For a brand that took the opposite route and owns a majority stake in the manufacturer of its hero product, see our SKIN1004 and Craver deep dive. For other founder-controlled K-beauty brand companies, see Anua and The Founders and Biodance and Beauty Selection.

If you are shopping in Korea, our Olive Young guide explains when prices drop and what to skip.

FAQ

Q: Who owns numbuzin?

BENOW Inc. (주식회사 비나우) in Seoul. At the end of 2025 its largest shareholders were Lee Il-ju (33.8%) and Kim Dae-young (33.1%), according to BENOW's 2025 audit report on DART. Funds managed by IMM (4.2% combined) and V One (3.7%) hold smaller stakes.

Q: Is numbuzin a Korean brand?

Yes. BENOW was founded in August 2018 and is headquartered in Seocho-gu, Seoul. The Korean product notices list Korea as the country of manufacture.

Q: Are numbuzin and fwee the same company?

Yes. Both are sold by BENOW Inc.; their Korean stores share the same company name, business registration number and address. BENOW also runs the body-care brand Knock and the hair-care brand RIAH.

Q: Where is numbuzin made?

In Korea, by contract manufacturers. The Korean product notices name Samsung Medicos for the No.3 serum, COSMAX for the No.3 toner, No.5 ampoule and No.9 essence, CNF for the No.1 toner and Imiin for the No.5 pads.

Q: How much revenue does numbuzin make?

BENOW, the company behind numbuzin and its sister brands, reported ₩325.0 billion (about $244 million) of consolidated revenue and ₩67.1 billion (about $50 million) of operating profit in 2025. The audit report does not give numbuzin's revenue on its own.

Q: Is BENOW a public company?

No. It is not listed. Dealsite reported in May 2025 that it had picked Samsung Securities as lead underwriter for a listing at the end of 2026; an undated job posting now says it is preparing an IPO for 2027–2028.

Q: Does a Japanese or Chinese company own numbuzin?

No. BENOW owns subsidiaries in Japan, China and the US, not the other way round. None of the shareholders named in the audit report is a foreign company.

Sources

• BENOW Inc. (주식회사 비나우), FY2025 consolidated audit report (Dasan Accounting, 다산회계법인), DART receipt no. 20260331002615, filed 31 March 2026: subsidiaries and their summary financials (note 1), income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, revenue by region and major customers (note 23), cost of sales (note 24), selling and admin. costs (note 25), expenses by nature (note 26), related parties and dividends to key management (note 32)
• BENOW Inc., FY2025 separate audit report (Dasan Accounting), DART receipt no. 20260331002603, filed 31 March 2026: shareholders at 31 December 2025 (note 1), head office, CEO signature, company-only income statement
• BENOW Inc., FY2024 separate audit report, DART receipt no. 20250401002645, and FY2024 consolidated audit report, DART receipt no. 20250401002664, both filed 1 April 2025: shareholders at 31 December 2024, co-CEO signatures, 2023 regional split
• BENOW Inc., FY2023 audit report, DART receipt no. 20240403002337, filed 3 April 2024 (qualified opinion; shareholders at end of 2022 and 2023; 2022 unaudited and 2023 Korean GAAP figures), and the amended report, DART receipt no. 20241119000102, filed 19 November 2024 (reissued with an unqualified opinion)
• DART: BENOW 2025 consolidated audit report
• DART: BENOW 2025 audit report
• DART: BENOW 2024 consolidated audit report
• DART: BENOW 2023 audit report, reissued
• numbuzin official Korean online store (company footer; category menu; product nos. 179, 43, 183, 51, 24, 59 and 52 for prices and manufacturer notices), checked 3 November 2026
• fwee official Korean online store (company footer; product nos. 154 and 167 for prices and manufacturer notices), checked 3 November 2026
• Dealsite (딜사이트), "IPO 앞둔 비나우, 몸값 1조 돌파 가시화", 14 May 2025: 2019 revenue, investors, underwriter, IPO timing, 2025 revenue target
• IB Tomato (IB토마토), "비나우, 재고 줄여 현금 늘렸지만…매출 뛰어도 이익 뒷걸음", 15 October 2026
• BENOW job posting on Wanted (원티드): brands, "2025 revenue ₩325 billion without outside investment", 14 export countries, IPO 2027–2028, checked 3 November 2026
• BENOW JAPAN careers page (HRMOS): brands handled in Japan, workplace, awards
• Amazon US listing for the numbuzin No.3 Skin Softening Serum, 1.69 fl oz (ASIN B0915K6WD3), "Visit the numbuzin Store", checked 3 November 2026
• Google autocomplete (US English) for "is numbuzin", "who owns numbuzin" and "is fwee", checked 3 November 2026
• FRED, DEXKOUS (South Korean won to one US dollar): ₩1,333.99 on 30 October 2026

Last updated: 3 November 2026. Ownership percentages and financial figures are from BENOW's audit reports on DART. The 2024 and 2025 figures are audited consolidated K-IFRS figures; 2023 is audited Korean GAAP for the company alone; 2022 is unaudited. The 2019 revenue, investor purchases, underwriter, valuation estimates and listing timetable are as reported by Korean press or stated on BENOW's recruiting page. Margins, growth rates, regional shares and the subsidiaries' share of group revenue are EpicKor calculations. Prices and manufacturer names are from the official numbuzin and fwee Korean stores on 3 November 2026. Amazon listings can change. Dollar figures use ₩1,333.99 to the dollar. EpicKor has no commercial relationship with BENOW, numbuzin or fwee, and nothing here is investment advice.