Eager shoppers began arriving at the Innisfree Korean skin care boutique at 5 a.m. on May 17, opening day. Within five hours, more than 450 customers had formed a line outside the Santa Monica-based store, clamoring to be among the first to check out the new West Coast flagship.

The 1,600-square-foot store, located on 1343 3rd Street Promenade, is the fourth U.S. location for the global brand, and a crucial component of an ongoing national expansion strategy, said Julien Bouzitat, Vice President of Innisfree U.S. The former direct-to-consumer brand made its U.S. debut in 2017 in New York, where it now operates three stores.

“We will be opening two locations in San Francisco and three additional stores in New York by the end of the summer,” said Julien during a preview of the West Coast location. “We will open in Seattle at some point, and we are also looking at Texas for 2020. Of course, the brand is very big in Asia, so North America is now a priority.”

Part of the AmorePacific brand portfolio, Innisfree, which launched in 2002, has developed a frenzied following: its Intensive Hydrating Serum with Green Tea Seed ($27) sells 11 bottles a minute around the world.

The brand has a vast product assortment, with some 900 sku’s, including its single-pack My Real Squeeze masks ($1.80) and its cleverly-packaged Sleeping Masks, which are packaged in what looks like coffee pods. It’s known for affordable pricing; the top-priced product is $69. Julien said the objective of the brand is to tackle all skin care issues, from acne to anti-aging. The U.S. stores also carry the widest assortment of colors in its cushion compact foundation (14 shades). And the U.S. flagships are the only outposts to sell the exclusive Home Fragrance offerings. Julien described it as a “true farm-to-face” label as the company owns certified organic green tea fields on Korea’s Jeju islands.

Julien said he believed the enduring success of the brand, in spite of a hyper-competitive market, is a result of its fully fleshed-out offerings.

“While K-beauty is indeed a cluttered category, most of the people enter it through specific products such as sheet masks, bubble masks or cushion compacts without establishing any loyalty,” he said. “Innisfree stands apart because it is first and foremost a fully developed brand, not just a collection of products. We have established a strong connection with our consumers over the years through our green initiatives promoting packaging recycling, reforestation and other philanthropic activities.”

The new location is designed to drive the green point home. An exterior wall is covered in lush plants, while parts of an interior wall are made from recycled wood. A corner station is poised to receive empty bottles, for which shoppers collect points towards future purchases and gifts. Julien said that while K-beauty has become a force in U.S. beauty retail “thanks to social media with fun packaging and colorful product textures”, brands have got to think beyond that if they are to have any lasting appeal.

“Beyond the Instagram friendliness, we believe that the increased appeal of Korean beauty coincides with a new evolution of skin care aspirations,” he said. “It’s now a steady category in the beauty landscape.”