Poland’s answer to K-beauty? Mokosh bets on P-beauty

Just a few years ago, many partners in Western Europe could not imagine that a Polish cream costing EUR 30–40 could be a premium product. They asked why anyone would choose a Polish cosmetic when they could buy a French one, says Anna Rutkowska-Didiuk, CEO of Mokosh Company.

Mokosh takes its name from a Slavic goddess associated with fertility, harvests, moisture and women’s work.

“Over time, the name Mokosh came to symbolize the foundation of our brand above all: femininity and a connection to nature. At the same time, the company chose a development path built around advanced technologies,” Anna Rutkowska-Didiuk adds.

Today, Mokosh makes premium natural dermocosmetics that combine naturally derived ingredients with advances in science.

“When we started, we had a certain boldness and audacity. We believed we would succeed because we had identified a gap in the market. We wanted to create the creams and cosmetics we ourselves needed: products with short ingredient lists and aesthetically designed glass packaging, where we knew exactly what was inside and at what concentrations. We invested about PLN 300,000 (EUR 70,000) of our own savings to launch the company, covering the development of the first formulations, the necessary testing and product registration, as well as the purchase of raw materials and packaging,” says Anna Rutkowska-Didiuk, CEO of Mokosh Company.

Mokosh – milestones

The Mokosh brand was founded in 2014. Its first three years were spent getting to know the cosmetics market, developing the concept and working on products.

“At the time, Poland’s natural cosmetics market was still in its infancy, and so were we. The breakthrough came in 2017, when we decided to move the business to Kazun, where our production facility is still located today. We established our laboratory facilities and manufacturing operations there. We initially invested PLN 600,000 (EUR 140,000) to adapt the building, purchase mixers and filling equipment, build a water treatment plant and equip the laboratory. The total cost of launching the facility was about PLN 720,000 (EUR 168,000). Before that, we operated on a small scale from a modest office in Pieńków and relied on external laboratories and manufacturers,” says Anna Rutkowska-Didiuk.

This enabled Mokosh to significantly increase both sales and production capacity. Today, the company has about 200 product SKUs and produces roughly 740,000 cosmetics a year.

“In 2025, we generated about PLN 19 million (EUR 4.4 million) in revenue and more than PLN 1.2 million (EUR 280,000) in net profit. In the first half of 2026, we had already recorded PLN 10 million (EUR 2.3 million) in revenue and about PLN 900,000 (EUR 210,000) in net profit. We are growing several percentage points faster than the natural cosmetics market and more than twice as fast as the cosmetics market as a whole. In the years ahead, we intend to accelerate growth further,” says Anna Rutkowska-Didiuk.

“Our specialized body-care products could be an interesting category for Korean consumers, because they focus very heavily on facial care, while the body is often overlooked.”

Today, Mokosh is focusing on investment, including expanding its production capacity.

“We are considering purchasing additional mixers for several hundred thousand zlotys, as well as investments of tens of thousands of zlotys in marketing activities in selected foreign markets. We are also investing in new formulations. We are developing the fields of psychodermatology and neurocosmetics – that is, formulations designed to address increasingly complex skin needs and work more powerfully and deeply than traditional cosmetics. More and more innovative ingredients are entering the market, and we remain fascinated by the cosmetics raw-materials industry. In this respect, we are a bit like chefs creating their own products, but all the ingredients that go into our ‘pot’ are developed within a separate, highly technologically advanced industry,” the Mokosh co-owner acknowledges.

Expert's perspective

P-beauty needs to be defined and promoted

It is time to clearly define the concept of P-beauty and consistently promote cosmetics made in Poland. We are global leaders in cosmetics manufacturing and the development of technologies in this sector. P-beauty can be understood in different ways – for example, as a set of characteristics and values associated with Poland’s cosmetics market. It encompasses manufacturers and consumers, as well as the beauty-services sector. It is important to build awareness of this ecosystem as a whole. It brings together the scientific and technological expertise behind these products, high standards for their ingredients and quality, and a well-developed beauty-services industry.

Poland also has a heritage that is unique on a global scale. Traditional herbal practices laid the foundations for modern pharmacy, alongside which a strong cosmetics and cosmetology industry developed.

Domestic manufacturing is a cornerstone of the Polish economy. If we start importing everything from third countries, we will become merely consumers of goods produced elsewhere, with no real influence over their quality or the consequences they may have for our health and the environment.

Justyna Żerańska

Director General, Polish Union of the Cosmetics Industry

Exports are a marathon, not a sprint

Mokosh is also investing in exports. Today, products sold under the Mokosh brand and the export-focused Mokann label are available in more than 35 markets worldwide.

“In 2025, export sales accounted for 17.5% of our total revenue. This year, that share has already reached 22%. We are present across Central and Southern Europe, including the Balkan and Baltic countries. Greece has been developing particularly rapidly in recent months. We also have established customers in Lithuania and Moldova. Our brand is recognized in these markets, and consumers did not face major mental barriers to accepting that a Polish brand could be good. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, meanwhile, we have an excellent distributor who identified the right sales channel for our brand: pharmacies,” says Anna Rutkowska-Didiuk.

“After 12 years in the market, I am still surprised by the power of recommendations. Word-of-mouth marketing is more effective than any high-profile advertising campaign.”

Outside Europe, Asia is a region of enormous potential for Mokosh.

“Hong Kong, China and Taiwan are particularly important to us, and to some extent Singapore, where we have several customers. We have not yet managed to enter South Korea, but we are watching the market and are in talks there. We have an idea for it. Our specialized body-care products could be an interesting category for Korean consumers, because they focus very heavily on facial care, while the body is often overlooked,” Anna Rutkowska-Didiuk adds.

Exporting teaches patience, as the process can take anywhere from several months to several years.

“It is always a marathon, not a sprint. In five years, I would like export sales to account for at least as much of our revenue as domestic sales. I believe the share could be even higher. Even if we continue to grow gradually in Poland and build brand recognition at a measured pace, other countries could offer us significant opportunities for growth,” Anna Rutkowska-Didiuk adds.

Brand made in Poland

According to the entrepreneur, Polish cosmetics have yet to establish a strong position in Europe.

“Especially when we start talking about premium brands. There is still a certain barrier here. Just a few years ago, many partners in Western Europe could not imagine that a Polish cream costing EUR 30-40 could be a premium product and find customers. The question was: why would anyone choose a Polish cosmetic when they could buy a French one?” says Anna Rutkowska-Didiuk.

Today, more and more people from Western Europe are visiting Poland and are surprised by what they find: a modern, clean country with excellent restaurants and a rapidly growing economy.

“All of this is also changing perceptions of Polish premium brands, Polish design, fashion and the quality of our products. It is a process that is still under way, but it is clearly moving in the right direction. When it comes to mass-market cosmetics, as well as products in the mid- and lower-price segments, they are already well regarded globally. Many foreign distributors know that Poland can produce excellent products at reasonable prices. Foreign distributors most often want to place such Polish cosmetics in supermarkets and the mass-market segment,” acknowledges the co-founder of Mokosh.

With an investor or going it alone?

Mokosh’s founder acknowledges that the company does not need to pursue massive scale overnight.

“We are more interested in a degree of stability, the brand’s security in the market and the reputation we have built. From the outset, there was no need for us to seek an investor. That capital was never an end in itself. What we could consider in the future, however, is joining forces with another company, both financially and in terms of expertise.

“I can imagine a situation in which someone has, for example, experience in international expansion, building a franchise network or distribution through an unconventional model. They have the knowledge, proven ways of working and capital, and would like to create a specific project with us, such as a joint venture. In that case, we would be open to a conversation. But an arrangement in which someone dictates the terms simply because they are bringing capital to the table is not of interest to us,” Anna Rutkowska-Didiuk explains.

E-commerce is the way forward

Mokosh products are available in physical stores operated by chains including Hebe, Rossmann, Super-Pharm, Aelia, Baltona and selected Sephora locations.

“We are expanding wherever we see a good fit with our brand DNA. We also tailor our product range to the assortment of each chain. We perform particularly well at airports, for example. What we do not want is to scale into a mass-market brand at any cost. We are focused on steady, evolutionary growth. The premium cosmetics market is expanding, as is the purchasing power of Polish consumers, so we are naturally growing alongside these changes,” the entrepreneur says.

“In five years, I would like export sales to account for at least as much of our revenue as domestic sales. I believe the share could be even higher.”

For now, however, one of Mokosh’s most important growth areas is e-commerce.

“Our online store is currently our fastest-growing sales channel. E-commerce now offers numerous opportunities for growth, from tools that make shopping easier to logistics and mobile solutions to the use of new technologies. If the right ecosystem is built around online sales – including search engine optimization, AI search engines, social media and customer communication – it can become a powerful engine of business growth,” Anna Rutkowska-Didiuk says.

The brand’s customers and their recommendations are also a major marketing channel.

“It happens that an entire batch of a limited-edition summer product sells out in three days. Word-of-mouth marketing has been with us from the beginning. After 12 years in the market, I am still surprised by the power of recommendations. This form of marketing is more effective than any high-profile advertising campaign,” Anna Rutkowska-Didiuk says.

One of the challenges today is what is happening in the influencer world and in communication with consumers.

“Every day, all of us are exposed to an enormous volume of posts and messages on social media. Traditional forms of advertising, such as print and outdoor, do not provide substantive information about a product. They build awareness and make a logo or brand stick in the consumer’s memory. But a purchasing decision often emerges only when multiple elements come together: advertising, recommendations, educational content and other people’s reviews. It is becoming increasingly difficult to reach the same audience using methods that worked just a few years ago. It is also becoming harder to build credibility in a world full of similar messages. Consumers are bombarded with information and often no longer know whom they can trust. On top of that, these activities are becoming increasingly expensive,” the co-founder of Mokosh acknowledges.

Key Takeaways

1. Mokosh makes premium natural dermocosmetics that combine naturally derived ingredients with advances in science. The company was founded by two sisters-in-law, who invested PLN 300,000 (EUR 70,000) to launch the business.
2. Today, Mokosh has around 200 product SKUs and produces approximately 740,000 cosmetics a year. In 2025, the company generated about PLN 19 million (EUR 4.4 million) in revenue and more than PLN 1.2 million (EUR 280,000) in net profit.
3. Mokosh products, sold under both the Mokosh brand and the export-focused Mokann label, are available in more than 35 markets worldwide. In 2025, export sales accounted for 17.5% of total revenue. Within five years, Mokosh’s management wants export sales to account for at least as much of the company’s revenue as domestic sales.