Hamel

Hamel is a South Korean vegan beauty brand based in Incheon, founded in 2020 [3]. It belongs to Barun Plan Co., Ltd. (stylised BAREUNPLAN), a design and marketing agency that moved into cosmetics during the COVID-19 pandemic [3]. The brand focuses on minimalist skincare built around vegan formulas, peptide-led actives and refillable packaging, and is sold internationally through its own site, Amazon and K-beauty specialty retailers.

The name is treated as an acronym: HAMEL stands for "Habit, ME, Love," which the company glosses as cultivating a habit of loving oneself, extended to caring for animals and nature. The brand remains active, with new product launches appearing as recently as 2024-2025 [10].

⚑ Thinner sourcing. The article relies largely on the brand's own statements (T2–T3). Glowpedia is seeking independent sources.

Barun Plan Co., Ltd., a South Korean design and marketing agency led by CEO Kim Jun-hyung, founded Hamel in 2020 [3]. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, the agency pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic — initially distributing face masks — before researching the vegan cosmetics market and launching Hamel in response to rising demand for clean beauty [3]. The company names Ju Hyung Kim as team leader and Sang Yong Lee as director [3].

Editorial reporting adds a personal dimension to the founding. The UK K-beauty retailer Skinsider describes a founder who struggled with cystic acne during their student years, an experience that drove an interest in cosmetic ingredients and a related degree [4]. The same account links the brand's creation to watching the founder's sister, a working mother, struggle to make time for self-care.

Hamel positions itself around three stated pillars: naturally good ingredients, cruelty-free veganism, and sustainable packaging. The company frames these through its self-love motto, describing a "habit of loving myself" that, in its words, extends "beyond self-love to include caring for the things around us, such as animals and nature" [4].

The brand's own copy summarises the idea plainly: "For precious you, ingredients that are good for skin. For you, who loves nature and animals, clean packaging from nature." Its positioning sits in the indie tier of K-beauty, with products generally priced in the $20-49 range and aimed at minimalist routines focused on foundational skin health rather than surface appearance.

Hamel's range spans toners and mists, creams and lotions, serums and ampoules, cleansers, sunscreens, mask packs and cushion makeup. Signature items include the Double Shot 12GF Core Glow Mist Serum, the Vegan Aqua Glow Sun Serum, the Double Shot Oil to Foam Cleanser, the Cera Soothing Cream and the Glow 12GF Hyal Essence Toner.

The brand builds its actives around peptides. Skinsider reports that Hamel uses "12 unique peptides that effectively target wrinkles and promote skin brightening effect tackling dullness and hyperpigmentation," combined in what the company calls an exclusive proprietary ratio [5]. Other named ingredients include hyaluronic acid (cited at 10,000 ppm in the toner), a ceramide blend the brand markets as its CERA BARRIER COMPLEX, white wood mushroom extract and witch hazel. These are organised under proprietary labels such as the 12 GF growth-factor peptide complex and a "Double Shot" delivery concept.

Sustainability is a core part of the brand's stated approach. Hamel says it uses refillable containers made from recycled plastic, prints directly onto packaging with soy ink instead of applying labels, and avoids spring pumps [3]. The company extends the theme to eco-friendly promotional materials. Its skincare is described as vegan and cruelty-free, opposing animal testing [5]; selected products, such as the Cera Soothing Cream, are also marketed as paraben-free and fragrance-free.

In 2023, WIPO profiled Hamel in its IP Advantage series as a vegan beauty brand from the Republic of Korea, highlighting how the company secured international trademark protection; Hamel filed International Trademark Registration No. 1643116 through WIPO's Madrid System in 2022 [3]. Skinsider has also featured the brand editorially, focusing on the founder's backstory and the brand's philosophy [4]. No formal industry awards are documented in the available sources.

Hamel is an active brand. The company lists its current markets as China, the European Union, Japan and the United States, with stated plans to expand into Australia, Latin America and Southeast Asia [3]. New product launches, including the DewyVita Zero Spot Sunscreen SPF50+, have appeared on Amazon in the 2024-2025 period [10], and the brand operates a bilingual Korean and English site with active shop functionality. It is distributed across several Western K-beauty retailers, including Skinsider, Stylevana and Korean-Skincare.