Papa Recipe

Papa Recipe is a South Korean skincare brand founded in 2012 and owned by Costory Inc. [2] The company is based in Wonju, in Gangwon Province, and centres its range on gentle, naturally derived skincare, with honey-based sheet masks as its best-known products. It remains active, selling through the South Korean retailer Olive Young, its own online store, and a range of international K-beauty stockists.

The brand built its reputation on the Bombee honey mask line rather than on a broad cosmetics catalogue, positioning itself in the affordable, everyday tier of Korean skincare aimed at drier and more sensitive skin.

Papa Recipe was established in March 2012 as a cosmetics brand under the corporate entity Costory Inc. [2] The brand's own materials list its chief executive as Kim Han-kyun; editorial and retailer coverage romanises the same founder's name as Kim Han-gyun, a variant spelling of the same person (Korean 김한균). [1][3]

According to editorial accounts, the company began when a Korean father set out to help a daughter who suffered from atopic dermatitis, creating an organic jojoba oil for her before the business expanded into wider skincare. [3] This father-and-daughter origin is described by K-beauty editorial and retailer sources rather than stated verbatim on the brand's own site. The name "Papa Recipe" reflects that stated starting point, and the first product the company launched was an Organic Jojoba Oil.

After its 2012 launch, Papa Recipe introduced a Blemish Laser Cream line in 2013 and launched its Bombee line in 2014, the same year it expanded into China. The Bombee Honey Mask followed in 2015. In 2016 the brand entered Olive Young, South Korea's largest health-and-beauty chain, and extended distribution to Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, New Zealand, Dubai and Canada. [2] By 2017 it had reached the United States, Australia and Malaysia, and the company reports that the Bombee Honey Mask passed 100 million cumulative units sold that year. [2]

The brand is operated by Costory Inc., a South Korean company headquartered in Wonju, Gangwon Province. No acquisitions or changes of ownership are recorded.

Papa Recipe frames its work around finding a "true recipe" for healthy skin, with a stated belief that the best ingredients are found in nature rather than only in a laboratory. Its slogan is "Skin voyage to find a true recipe!" [2] The company says it looks to "the field" for raw materials suited to the skin, and retailer descriptions position the range as clean beauty intended to work gently on sensitive skin. In price terms the brand sits in the affordable, drugstore tier, with its honey masks sold at roughly two US dollars each.

The Bombee honey masks are the brand's signature line. The Bombee Black Honey Mask Pack is formulated with manuka honey, propolis and royal jelly extracts, and the sheet masks are frequently described by retailers as cult favourites. [4] Papa Recipe reports that its flagship Bombee Honey Mask carries an anti-counterfeit hologram for verification.

Beyond masks, the range includes the Tea Tree Control Cleansing Foam, the Eggplant Clearing cleansing and mud-mask products, and the Noble Rot Lifting Essence and Ampoule. Recurring hero ingredients across the line include honey, propolis, royal jelly, red ginseng, eggplant extract, tea tree and jojoba oil. [4] The company states that all Papa Recipe products are made in South Korea.

Retailer and editorial sources describe the brand as cruelty-free and pregnancy-safe, and note formulations without parabens, artificial fragrance or alcohol; these value claims come from third-party stockists and editorial coverage rather than a formally documented certification. [3][4]

The K-beauty editorial site Fifty Shades of Snail featured Papa Recipe in 2022 as one of the better Korean skincare brands "to fly under the radar", in a sponsored deep-dive on its Bombee Honey and Eggplant Clearing lines. [3]

Papa Recipe remains active. Its English-language online store is operational, its Bombee line continues to be sold through Olive Young and international K-beauty retailers, and its most recent documented editorial coverage dates to 2022. [3]