Los Angeles-based beauty company KiKi World raised $7m for expanding its operations, including backing from Estee Lauder’s New Incubation Ventures.
KiKi World uses blockchain technology to transform the traditional beauty industry.
Its co-founder Jana Bobosikova stated that the current targeted advertising in the beauty industry was not properly serving its customers.
“You probably have watched a lot of creators on TikTok recommend it to you. You probably recommended it to all your friends. And what do you get for that? Just more retargeted ads,” she stated.
Instead, KiKi World customers can vote on beauty products designed by its members, with the most popular products being chosen to be made and sold by the brand.
Voting customers receive store credits and company digital tokens as incentives to continue their voting.
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KiKi World stores its customers’ votes on decentralised blockchain software Ethereum.
“KiKi sees the internet and the communities it connects as the engine that creates, not merely consumes, the brands and products that will define the next generation and is building tools to make this elevated customer experience a reality,” commented KiKi World’s co-founders Jana Bobosikova, Ricky Chan and Brendon Garner.
In its 2024 Thematic intelligence report into blockchain, research and analysis company GlobalData pointed to a lack of clear use cases as the technology’s greatest barrier.
Clear industry-specific use cases such as KiKi World’s use of Ethereum will help the technology enter the corporate world and mature.
By 2030, GlobalData expects the global blockchain market to be worth over $291bn, achieving a CAGR of 55% from 2023.
Asset tokenisation, blockchain development and infrastructure services will catalyse this growth.
In the report, GlobalData identified that the majority (42%) of blockchain spending was done by the banking, finance and insurance industries. Outside of finance, GlobalData noted that many adopters of the technology were in the retail and construction industries.