The Epic Story of No. #1 Amazon Best Seller

TIRTIR, Meet the People Behind It

 

 

In five years from influencer brand to $100 million valuation

Founded in 2019 by CEO Lee Yoo Bin (35), TIRTIR started with the motto “cosmetics that restore the skin’s natural healthy glow”. After studying fashion and running an online clothing shop, Yoo became an influencer and gained a lot of attention, and after leading a few successful group purchases of cosmetics, she launched her own cosmetics business. Yoo shared and communicated with everyone on social media as she prepared to launch the brand, which reached $21 million in sales in about two years. In June 2023, she sold about 60% of TIRTIR shares to private equity firm The Hahm Partners for KRW 89 billion, and remains the company’s second-largest shareholder, actively contributing in several areas, including marketing.

 

Headquarters and showroom located in Hongdae, the street of youth

Tucked away in a narrow alley in Hongdae is TIRTIR’s first showroom and headquarters. “TIRTIR World” is a pink-colored space filled with a variety of beauty products, from inner beauty products to skincare, cool patches, makeup, and more.

The showroom recently underwent a transformation, expanding the existing café into a display space and adding a photo zone. The spacious space was designed to showcase and demonstrate a wide range of products, and the brightly lit and stylish interior was designed to create a unique experience for customers.

80-90% of the guests were foreigners, with a wide range of nationalities. an Indonesian tour guide we met at the showroom told us that TIRTIR is so famous locally that he brought a van full of his customers who requested the visit. “In recent years, our customers were mainly Japanese, but now we have customers from Indonesia, North America, the Middle East, and other countries,” says the showroom manager. I think the ability to address all beauty needs in a comprehensive way has appealed to our global audience.“

We interviewed Team Leader Lim Rahee and Manager Kim Ki-won, who were behind TIRTIR’s North American success story.

We’d love to hear about the #1 best selling product on Amazon.

This is the most popular red cushion in our brand. Customers are happy with the coverage and also with functional aspects like application and adhesion. K-beauty awareness and popularity has increased significantly, but it was mainly focused on skincare products. but we introduced a new category called cushion foundation, which was highly appreciated by the consumers.

What led you to think about the variety of color options?

By monitoring overseas content and reviews, we understood the needs of people with different skin tones who were curious about Korean cushions and wanted to try them. Social media is so influential these days. We expanded the color range because we knew influencers preferred products that they could easily explain and appeal to their followers with diverse skin tones. The fact that in less than half a year, we’ve created a product lineup that caters to all ages and different skin tones was a huge boost to the brand’s success.

Different skin colors will have different skin characteristics, so how did you address that?

Traditional foundations can be too matte to work with some skin types, and products that produce dewy finish can be too glowy to feel comfortable, but ours is semi-matte so it works in any climate or environment.

Reviews from Black consumers on social media had a big impact. What transpired there? Was there any behind story?

 

MissDarcei is a beauty creator who reviews cosmetics from many brands. We had already gone viral at that point and a lot of influencers were giving our cushion exposure. But then MissDarcei had a little negative view of our product and said, “This is the darkest colored foundation in Korea.” She made a video where she said, “Call me when you have the right shade for me,” which went viral and got 30 million views. At the time, we were expanding to 20 shades, so we reached out and sent her all of our 20 shades and did a paid collaboration. No. 43 went so well with MissDarcei that the video went viral again and was featured on JTBC news. Some of the comments were like, “We had it coming, it’s rigged,” but it rather made us feel good. It’s a testament to how fast we responded. She was already a big name, so we were monitoring her accounts, and we were going to reach out to her once we had 20 shades, but the timing worked out great.

 

 

 

In another unexpected development, an influencer golloria posted a video on TikTok complaining about a product called Youthforia, which went viral in a bad way. We were about to have all our 30 shades in the market, so we reached out and sent her samples, and the darkest color matched golloria’s skin tone, so that’s how we started the paid collaboration.

Did you expect this kind of success?

Team Leader Lim: I was expecting a good response (laughs).

Manager Kim: We started slowly in consideration of the cost, but Team Leader Lee had more than 30 shades in mind from the beginning. I was rather worried when we released the first nine. It was the first time so many shades were released in Korea, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. From there on, I fully expected the success.

Please describe TIRTIR’s marketing focus on inclusiveness* as opposed to exclusiveness.

As an inclusive brand, we strive to communicate with a sincere “You spoke, We listened!” attitude. We attribute the popularity of our shade products to our close communication with our customers. TikTok and Instagram engagement on the official TIRTIR account is very high relative to the number of followers.

When it comes to color development, we go to great lengths to make sure nobody feels left out. Regardless of the number of followers, if someone says they don’t have a color that suits their skin tone, we reach out to them, send them samples, and communicate with them to find a good match. We’ve also been conducting customer surveys, and based on that, we’ll be releasing 10 new shades in mid-August. This will make us offer a total of 40 shades. We target customers from different regions, such as North America, South America, Indonesia, and the Middle East, and try to have products that match their skin tone.

*Inclusive branding: the practice of creating an identity for a company’s products or services as being inclusive across the board, not limited to a particular class, race, disability, age, etc

Many BNB readers are beauty supply retailers. Do you have any plans for the US offline market? We’d love to hear about the distribution channels.

We sell through a company called Style Korean, which distributes many brands globally. We supply them with products and the retailers place orders with them. We stick to Style Korean because using multiple distributors can lead to price collapse while it’s hard to keep track of resellers. We know retailers want brands to regulate the price.

Here’s the process for ordering items:

1. Ordering on the website: Select and complete the order for the desired items on the website. https://wholesale.stylekorean.com
2. Order Confirmation: Stylekorean verifies the order details and notifies the retailer that the order has been received.
3. Payment: The retailer confirms the received order and makes the payment for the corresponding amount.
4. Packaging and Shipping: Stylekorean packs the order after payment confirmation and ships it to the retailer.

 

Simply put, No. 43 is a tone that transitions from Hispanic to Black. We’ve noticed that there are a lot of customers with this skin color. So, we’re supplementing that a little further.

No. 55 is the darkest color.

We’ve created a cushion trial kit and are selling it on Amazon. We bundled six similar shades of color in one package for people to try. The price isn’t quite right when you factor in shipping costs, but it’s sold on Amazon for $1.50.

 

After Cushion, which product has the most positive feedback in North America?

It’s milk skin toner. It creates a moisturizing film to smooth out irregularities after cleansing, make skin plump and prevent dry oily skin. People with oily skin or those who live in hot climates often wear only this toner, and many influencers cite it as their favorite. Unscented and vegan, it’s also available in a lighter version with a thicker consistency.

 

Tell us about your future plans

We’re focusing more on branding than general marketing. We want branding that speaks to and listens to our customers. At the end of July, we’ll be participating in KCON, the world’s largest K-culture festival, to showcase our brand. In the second half of the year, we’ll be expanding our retail stores, and later in the year we’ll be opening a pop-up in New York City. We’re also launching a variety of new products, including sunscreen.