Meet Kiki, a New Kind of Beauty Brand That Wants to Co-create Products With Its Consumers
It was a provocative thought: What if consumers not only had a tangible say in a brand’s product development, but could experience its products in both physical and digital realms, all without relinquishing their data?
Such was the genesis of Kiki, a beauty brand debuting Tuesday with one stock keeping unit and a Kiki World membership platform that allows consumers to cast votes and provide feedback while earning points and virtual collectibles.
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“Right now, beauty stands on the shoulders of customer recommendations and creator content, yet there’s no way for these two most important groups to be rewarded consistently unless they have a brand deal,” said Jana Bobosikova, chief executive officer of Kiki, who cofounded the brand with chief creative officer Ricky Chan and chief marketing officer Brendon Garner.
Kiki launches with a $29 peel-off nail polish called Pretty Nail Graffiti, which is available in three colors (Matte Black, Gloss White and Crackle) and aims to simplify the nail painting and removal processes.
“We’ve been stuck in this world where we’ve accepted that, while humans can go to Mars, we have to take two hours to do our nails — it’s bizarre,” said Bobosikova. After going through more than 40 vendors, the formula’s final iteration dries within minutes and can be peeled off any time with relative ease, or remain for a few days before it begins to peel on its own.
“We felt that expressiveness through nails is having a moment, and so it seemed like a good product to start with from that perspective,” Bobosikova said.
Consumers can vote on which nail polish colors they would like to see next via the Kiki World platform, as well as offer direction for the brand’s upcoming products, which so far include a Clean Face Candy cleanser, Magic Bubble Moisturizer and 1 Night Hair Stand temporary hair dye.
“We’re thinking about customer input at an attribute level, so that could mean product color, scent, function, should our moisturizer be for dry skin or acne-prone skin — that sort of thing,” said Bobosikova.
Voting is one way customers can earn points, which can in turn be redeemed for rewards such as branded merchandise, virtual collectibles and beauty products. Consumers can also earn points by referring friends to the brand or even simply using a Kiki product, thanks to NFC tags that sense when a product’s cap is opened (though there is a once-a-day limit on points granted for the latter).
“Beauty is such a large industry, and sometimes it can be a bit top-down in terms of where the message and where the product is coming from,” added Garner. “The way that unique individual identities are formed now online and offline, the way that they blend; everyone has their unique perspective and voice they want to share, so we set out to figure out how to actually make that happen.”
The founders estimate Kiki could do around $2 million in first-year sales, though they have their eye equally focused on another metric: engagement.
“It will be interesting to report on first-year votes, as well — yes, ultimately we need revenue and profitability, but engagement gives us an indication of where the company is headed,” said Bobosikova.
The brands’ mission of championing consumer autonomy extends into its data policies as well, with the founders harnessing blockchain technology to allow users to retain ownership and management of their data while accessing Kiki World.
“At the end of the day, we want to change the dynamic of and the dialogue on how a brand, beyond just beauty, should be practiced in the future. When consumers start to understand and adopt into this ownership idea, then we will have done our work successfully,” concluded Chan.
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