TLDR: Mayacrew, a South Korean tech company, is revolutionizing the global expansion of K-Brands, particularly in the U.S. market via TikTok Shop, with its AI-powered marketing platform, Cosduck. The platform automates influencer collaborations, campaign management, and performance analysis, leveraging generative AI for content creation and AI chatbots for customer service. Mayacrew demonstrated Cosduck’s effectiveness by launching its own brands, including a spicy seaweed product that went viral after being featured by Cardi B, achieving significant revenue growth and planning further international expansion.
Seoul, South Korea – Mayacrew is at the forefront of automating the international growth of Korean brands, utilizing advanced data and artificial intelligence through its innovative marketing platform, Cosduck. The company’s strategic focus is on streamlining the complex process of global market entry, with a particular emphasis on the burgeoning TikTok Shop ecosystem.
Cosduck, Mayacrew’s flagship AI-powered platform, offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to facilitate global expansion. These include automated influencer collaborations, efficient campaign management, and in-depth performance analysis. The platform employs data-driven targeting to identify suitable creators and market trends, ensuring maximum marketing efficacy. Notably, Cosduck has cultivated a robust network of 14,000 TikTok creators in the U.S., enabling Korean brands to launch campaigns with minimal effort. The system automates logistical aspects such as shipping details and deadline reminders for creators, allowing marketers to concentrate on strategic development and outcome optimization.
One of Cosduck’s key differentiators is its integrated performance tracking. Unlike TikTok’s native, fragmented analytics, Cosduck consolidates all relevant data into a single, intuitive dashboard. This provides brands with a clear overview of revenue generated by individual creators, top-selling products, and overall Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), facilitating informed, data-driven decision-making.
Beyond automation, Mayacrew harnesses AI to elevate the quality of marketing efforts. A generative AI-based content guide analyzes successful viral videos to provide actionable creative blueprints. These guides offer insights into crafting compelling hooks for the initial three seconds, scene-by-scene storytelling to highlight product appeal, and persuasive calls-to-action. Furthermore, Cosduck incorporates an AI-powered customer service agent, an intelligent chatbot that instantly addresses inquiries on TikTok Shop, reducing manual workload and escalating complex issues to human agents when necessary.
Mayacrew has proactively validated Cosduck’s capabilities by launching its own private brands. This strategy began with a K-beauty brand and later expanded into the K-food sector with a spicy seaweed product. The seaweed brand achieved remarkable success when American superstar Cardi B featured it during a livestream, leading to a rapid sell-out and demonstrating Cosduck’s extensive reach. CEO Jun-ho Oh stated, “The seaweed brand recorded exceptionally high ROAS, which clearly demonstrates Cosduck’s value. Rather than trying to persuade clients with words, we show them tangible results through our own usage.”
The U.S. market, while attractive, presents significant challenges for Korean consumer goods companies due to its scale and intense competition. CEO Oh emphasized the critical role of TikTok, asserting, “When it comes to marketing consumer brands in the U.S., TikTok is practically the only option.” He highlighted TikTok Shop’s emergence as a formidable rival to established e-commerce giants like Amazon and Coupang, driven by its affiliate marketing model where creators earn commissions directly tied to sales performance.
Mayacrew’s growth is attributed not only to its technological prowess but also to its emphasis on human talent and cultural understanding. “To succeed globally, you need global talent,” Oh remarked. The company actively fosters a “global DNA” within its team, prioritizing cultural empathy, consumer understanding, and authentic engagement with local creators. Marketing strategy is spearheaded by Soo-young Park, while Hyun Lim, with nine years of experience in the Middle East, contributes invaluable cultural insights. Lim underscored this philosophy, stating, “Global marketing is impossible without understanding local culture. Every Cosduck team member has lived abroad, which helps us empathize with local consumers and respond flexibly.” Park added that as AI and machine learning-based automation become prevalent, content quality is paramount, necessitating thorough analysis of both content and consumer trends.
Mayacrew’s team excels in capturing local humor, memes, and communication styles—nuances that traditional translation tools cannot replicate, ensuring effective localization.
Despite TikTok’s inherently unpredictable and fast-changing landscape, Mayacrew has invested heavily in real-time TikTok data collection to adapt swiftly. This continuous monitoring of the beauty and food ecosystems on TikTok allows them to identify macro trends and adjust strategies accordingly.
Mayacrew’s confidence is substantiated by impressive financial figures. Over 40 K-beauty brands, including prominent names like Olive Young’s PB Colorgram, Round Lab, SKIN1004, and Tocobo, have adopted Cosduck. The company’s revenue surged from KRW 2 billion in 2023 to KRW 4.2 billion in 2024, with an ambitious target of KRW 10 billion for 2025.
Mayacrew has also received significant support from the AWS Jungle Program, a collaborative initiative with Seoul National University of Science and Technology. This program provided crucial feedback on architecture from AWS headquarters and opened doors for overseas investment and partnerships. Oh acknowledged, “The AWS Jungle Program and Seoul National University of Science and Technology served as invaluable bridges to help Mayacrew step onto the global stage.”
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Looking forward, Mayacrew aims to establish Cosduck as the indispensable one-stop solution for all Korean consumer goods brands seeking international expansion. By the end of 2025, the company plans to extend Cosduck’s reach to every major TikTok Shop market worldwide, with a Japanese subsidiary already in development and further expansion slated for Europe, the UAE, Southeast Asia, and Mexico.
