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| Jeong Kyu-hwa, CEO of Gelato Lab / Courtesy of Gelato Lab |
By Baek Byung-yeul
Nail art is rapidly becoming regarded as a creative activity as it includes various steps, ranging from cleaning and trimming to applying gel on fingernails.
However, an increasing number of customers here are turning their eyes to nail stickers, which can be easily attached and removed, as they can express unique styles more conveniently and save the expense of visiting nail art shops that cost between 30,000 won ($25) and 150,000 won.
Jeong Kyu-hwa, CEO of local nail sticker maker Gelato Lab, capitalized on the changing trend quickly by analyzing consumer data. He entered the business in 2017 when there were not many companies that could comfortably provide nail stickers that customers would want to attach to their fingernails.
Jeong said his nail stickers were received well as they "are all based on consumer needs," adding his data-driven management policy made the firm a success.
"We attracted attention because Gelato Lab releases nail stickers that are based on customer needs," Jeong said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.
"Before we entered the business in 2017, there were already nail sticker or nail tip products but the reason our products were well received was because we could provide what our customers wanted."
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| Singer Taeyeon promotes Gelato Lab's nail sticker products. / Courtesy of Gelato Lab |
Its Hatto Hatto nail stickers, which were produced after analyzing the latest trend in nail designs, soon became a consumer favorite with more than 2.5 million sold in just 10 months after their release in November 2017. Thanks to their popularity, Gelato Lab recorded sales of 13 billion won in 2018 to become the No. 2 player in the "self-decorating" nail art market, following Dashing Diva.
Now, Gelato Lab's nail stickers are available at both online shopping malls and offline stores such as Olive Young.
The CEO said he decided to explore the beauty market as he witnessed its great potential when he worked as a leader of a regional business development department at local e-commerce site Ticket Monster. "When I was at Ticket Monster, I worked with many companies in different sectors and realized the beauty market would grow at a rapid pace," he said.
To secure a valid consumer data base, the first thing he did was launch a Gelato nail art app in 2016. Collaborating with the country's nail artists, Gelato Lab provided useful information about nail art to users.
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| A model shows fingernails decorated with Gelato Lab's Hatto Hatto nail stickers. / Courtesy of Gelato Lab |
"We opened different types of beauty content pages on Facebook to check consumer reactions and concluded that about 60 percent of working women ages 20 through 39 have at some point visited nail art shops. And 95 percent of them searched for websites to see what kinds of nail art designs were popular. But there was no online service that looked at all of this information together. So we launched a mobile app," he said.
The nail art app was a win-win for both the company and nail artists. "Through the app, Gelato Lab secured an enormous amount of data about current trends in the nail art scene here and could provide useful information to our users. It was also helpful for nail artists as they could promote their nail art shops," a company official said.
Jeong said Gelato Lab broadened its fan base for nail stickers by actively promoting its products through social media.
"In 2017, nail stickers remained a minor player in the nail art category. Naver queries were only around 70 a month.
"This means we had to not only promote our products but also let more consumers know about what nail stickers were. To solve this, we focused on utilizing social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram to get closer to more female consumers," he said.
Gelato Lab has been prioritizing data-driven management above all else. The company has bolstered efforts to nurture its marketing and data analysis business as they are the two core departments for growth. Nine of its 58 employees work on data analysis and six work in marketing.
"We use big data technology when developing products. Through our mobile app, we offer Instagram images about nail art designs, provided by local nail artists. We collect users' feedback on current design trends and analyze them using our own algorithm," he said.
Taking advantage of its own data science technology, Gelato Lab is aiming to predict forthcoming trends in nail art design and develop trend-leading products.
"Combining our data analysis technology developed through machine learning and deep learning technologies, Gelato Lab aims to develop new design patterns that can lead market trends. After improving its data science technology in the sector, Gelato Lab also plans to explore other beauty categories," said Joo Min-cheol, leader of the firm's tech team.
The CEO recommended startups utilize social media as marketing brands. He added that social media platforms are also helpful in market research to see what kinds of services or products consumers want to have.
"As startups usually have limitations in time and available funds, they have to concentrate on marketing plans that ensure quick responses. In terms of that, Facebook and Instagram are effective tools enabling companies to plan out various marketing campaigns," Jeong said.
Jeong also said Gelato Lab is looking to overseas markets in Japan, North America and China because nail art is a product that can better penetrate cultural barriers compared to other products.
"Given that visual and design elements are considered top priorities when choosing nail art products, it is a product that can easily overcome cultural barriers compared to any others," he said.
"With this advantage, we will try to expand our business into Japan, North America and China. Based on the competiveness of our nail products, which feature trendy designs, we will enter the global market," he added.
While the domestic market is estimated at about 80 billion won, Gelato Lab said it expects to log three times more in sales in 2019 than last year. "Ranging from searching nail art design trends to nail styling, we are aiming to provide all sorts of services in the nail care business," Jeong said.
