Korikart – a leading e-commerce platform that has introduced multiple Korean lifestyle products in India
Context
Launched in the year December 2018, Korikart is the largest e-commerce platform providing multiple Korean products ranging from categories such as Korean home & kitchen, personal care, beauty and lifestyle in India. What started as a skincare and cosmetics brand is now a 70 brand, multi-category store, founded by Mr Seo Youngdoo, who had come to India in 2004 with the idea of starting an Automobile Component Factory. He studied international relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and launched the e-store seeing the growing popularity of K-pop, K-Drama and Korean skincare.
Korikart is a multi-brand store that has been designed to meet the growing needs of the customers in India who are looking forward to acquiring Korean quality products. It is also the first e-commerce platform to introduce video e-commerce.
Communication’s Narrative
Korikart collaborated with Wishbox Studio in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The idea was to make people aware of the K- beauty products which people can order online during the lockdown.
Korikart’s USP is providing its customers with a visual demonstration of the usage and benefits of the product through various videos on Korikart TV. It is one of the rare e-commerce platforms that not just aims at selling the products but also ensures that people are completely satisfied before buying. They also recently launched their first flagship store at DLF Galleria Market, Gurugram. The goal for Wishbox was to promote Korikart as an online multi-brand store that has been designed to meet the growing needs of the customers in India who are looking forward to acquiring Korean quality products riding the K- wave and the rise in demand for the Korean products, a culture which is being followed by most of the people in India.
The “Solution”
Team Wishbox worked on a communication strategy while providing special attention to their corporate media strategy and their brand-building strategy to increase the visibility of the brand which would eventually contribute to their growth. The team explored media opportunities around industry stories, company/spokesperson profiling, trend stories and, product placements in print, online, and podcasts.
The corporate media strategy for Korikart was to promote the expansion and growth of the brand in various categories. Korikart ‘s launch of its First Flagship Store at DLF Galleria Market, Gurugram garnered coverage in various prominent online platforms. Team WBS tapped lifestyle/beauty bloggers from Delhi, Mumbai & Punjab to promote products from their in-house beauty brand Plan 36.5 and also tapped food bloggers from Delhi and Mumbai to showcase their instant noodles brand ‘Ramen Noodles’. This activity got a lot of traction on their social media pages. Brand building stories highlighting the brand’s vision, product portfolio, and stories on the founder, Mr. Youngdoo Seo as a Korean expert who aims to build a connection with the Indian audiences across income strata.
Team WBS also got their subsidiary company ‘Jeonbuk Business Centre’ (JBC) a business-to-business (B2B) platform dealing in all kinds of Korean and Indian goods. We promoted the news of their presence in the India-Korea Trade Fair in Gurugram through renowned wire agency Asian News Service (ANI) and the brand further garnered coverage in publications like Business Standard online, Business world online, Yahoo News to name a few.
Outcome
Korikart has garnered extensive media exposure and has firmly established itself as one of India‘s leading online portals for all Korean products. The brand got featured in publications it had intended to and got covered by senior business journalists. Korikart got featured in top publications like The Hindu Business Line, Business India, Business Standard, Mint Lounge, Indian Express online, The Times of India online, Money Control, Deccan Herald and Lifestyle portals such as Vogue, Femina, Grazia, Elle, What’s Hot, i-Diva, India Today, LBB (Little Black Book) to name a few.
Basis exclusive interviews with the founder of the brand Youngdoo Seo, we received standalone stories in The Economic Times, ET-Panache, Forbes online, and the New Indian Express. Besides, Korikart was also featured in Mint for their podcast on ‘Employee Engagement during Diwali’ which was being covered by Senior Journalists of the publication. For the lifestyle side of the brand, we reached out to lifestyle journalists and lifestyle influencers for getting social media visibility on their highly followed social media accounts.
