Allsale Corporation, a South Korean startup operating an influencer marketing platform, is in talks with investors to better support Korean cosmetics brands’ inroads into the US in collaboration with American influencers.
“New marketing tools for brands are under development,” Mark Kim, the founder and chief executive of Allsale, said in an interview with The Korea Economic Daily late last month.
He added that the company plans to unveil the new tools early this year after internal testing.
As part of efforts to upgrade its platform, also called Allsale, the Korean startup is in talks with a major Korean conglomerate on strategic investment to facilitate advances by Korean cosmetics and healthcare companies into the US through social media platforms, said Kim.
The two parties are expected to forge an agreement soon, added the CEO, who declined to name the company due to a confidentiality agreement.
The Korean startup is also seeking to raise more funds from US investors to expand its services, the CEO said.
It is considering joining a startup accelerating program with Y Combinator or others in the US, Kim added.
Founded in February 2024, the fledgling influencer management platform developer raised $300,000 in its inaugural funding round last May.
AGENT BETWEEN INFLUENCERS AND K-BEAUTY BRANDS
On the Allsale platform, companies can manage their brand ambassadors on everything from marketing campaign strategies to analytics services to compensation payment.
As e-commerce becomes indispensable to the shopping experience, social commerce via social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok has emerged as a mainstream retail channel, leading influencers and content creators to wield ever-greater marketing power.
The rapid ascent of social commerce has pushed merchants to collaborate with content creators as their brand ambassadors to boost sales and brand awareness, making influencer management big business.
With its end-to-end management system, Allsale helps brands create campaigns, negotiate with creators, issue payments to influencers and more, all within the platform, explained Kim, adding that all the processes are automated and optimized for each brand.
The system also makes it easier for influencers and content creators to monetize their capabilities to promote their favorite brands and products on social media platforms while it takes care of product sourcing, logistics and deliveries.
Collaborating with content creators is like a hiring process, said Kim — complicated to manage and negotiate.
“We are here to help them scale their influencer marketing program with data,” said Kim.
Similar platforms are its larger peers in the US like Modash and Grin, but Allsale has no direct competitor in Korea, said Kim.
AMBASSADOR OF KOREAN COSMETICS BRANDS IN THE US
Allsale works with small- and mid-sized Korean beauty product firms with annual sales of about 10 billion won ($6.9 million) each that want to reach out to US consumers.
In most cases, influencers interested in Korean beauty products sign up for Allsale’s ambassador program to promote their selected Korean cosmetics in the US.
The Korean brand ambassador management platform currently manages about 100 influencers, who promote products for 25 Korean beauty brands registered with Allsale as of December 2024, Kim said.
Since Allsale’s launch early last year, the number of influencers registering with it has grown 20% to 30% monthly, according to its CEO.
Its cumulative sales since its launch are about 400 million won ($280,000), said Kim, who noted that it earns from service subscription fees and one-time fees for e-commerce operations such as fulfillment services and online shop setup.
For such operational services, Allsale works with CTK Cosmetics Korea, which runs a fulfillment center in Los Angeles, and Nurihaus Inc., which connects Allsale with influencers in the US.
TIKTOK SHOP’S OFFICIAL PARTNER IN THE US
Allsale is a TikTok Shop Partner (TSP), a third-party expert that helps sellers on TikTok Shop manage their content, start businesses and sell products.
TSP services include content creation, operational mentoring and shop management. TSPs also have access to information about other stores and content creators.
Since entering the US in 2023, TikTok Shop has quickly penetrated into the country as a major social commerce player.
Allsale has decided to become a first mover to take advantage of TikTok Shop’s ascent, said Kim, adding that the Korean influencer management platform will also seek partnerships with other social media platforms to promote Korean beauty products.
In response to the US ban on TikTok, Kim expects TikTok services will remain available in the US as the app operation has resumed one day after its brief suspension on Sunday.
Shortly after he returned to the Oval Office on Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt the TikTok ban.
“We will continue working with TikTok Shop in the US,” said Kim. “With our proprietary affiliate marketing program, it is not a problem for us to work with other social media platforms such as Instagram. We are looking into partnerships with an Instagram affiliate program, Instagram Shopping and YouTube Shopping.”
PLATFORM AND PRODUCT DIVERSIFICATION
The Korean startup is now exploring ways to use its affiliate brands’ TikTok Shop content as social media ad content like Instagram ads to diversify its business portfolio, said Kim.
It also plans to invite Korean dietary supplement and functional food brands to its platform, while focusing on Korean cosmetics brands for now due to the soaring global demand for K-beauty said the Allsale CEO.
However, he said the Korean startup has no plan to expand into markets such as Korea, China or Europe, beyond the US for the next two to three years.
“The Korean social commerce market for influencers is much smaller than that of the US,” said Kim.
European regulations are complicated and differ by country, creating the high barriers to market entry, he added.
Allsale was picked as one of the 20 Korean startups for support from Asan Voyager, a program designed to assist Korean startups entering the US by providing acceleration, coaching, community learning and long-term residency support.
By Sookyung Seo
skseo@hankyung.com
Joel Levin edited this article.
