KakaoTalk links producers with consumers

Seen is an image of Makers with Kakao, a build-to-order online market developed by mobile messenger operator KakaoTalk. / Captured from Makers with Kakao

By Baek Byung-yeul

Kakao, operator of Korea's top mobile instant messenger KakaoTalk, has been nurturing a new consumer trend through its build-to-order (BTO) platform Makers with Kakao.

Since its launch in 2016, Makers with Kakao has allowed small manufacturers to receive orders from customers through KakaoTalk.

In a bid to bring positive change to the conventional structure of living, Kakao launched its “social impact” business plan in 2014. As a first project of the plan, Makers with Kakao was initiated to give benefits to both manufacturers and consumers by reducing inventory costs.

On KakaoTalk messenger, consumers can click into Makers with Kakao service and check product samples of micro-manufacturers. The products range from household items such as organic toothpaste and paper bags to home appliances including air purifiers.

Kakao said Makers with Kakao has helped manufacturers reduce inventory costs by as much as 20 percent so they can sell their products to consumers for cheaper.

Two years since Kakao introduced the BTO platform, about 1.72 million products have been sold on the build-to-order platform without generating inventory. Kakao said Makers with Kakao originally began with only seven partners but now it has been working with more than 1,100 micro-manufacturers.

“With the build-to-order system, we have contributed to the development of small and medium-sized businesses,” Kakao said. Thanks to the popularity, Makers with Kakao also has contributed to the emergence of star micro-manufacturers.

Gaonheal, a local cotton pillow manufacturer, has produced “Cotton Shower” pillow products in which consumers don't need to separate the pillowcase and the cotton pillow inside the case. Though the company has failed to generate consumer attention due to lack of promotion, the Cotton Shower pillow could emerge as a must-have item here since Gaonheal began selling its pillows through Makers with Kakao.

Kakao said Gaonheal has sold about 13,000 pillows in three months through Makers with Kakao while the company had only sold about five to 60 pillows on average before.

Another example is LOOY, an anti-fog microfiber glass-cleaning cloth. Kakao said 31,181 LOOY glass cleaning clothes have been sold since last November.