If you have any interest in skincare, you must have stumbled across “K-Beauty” in your time surfing the internet, looking for the best solutions for flawless skin. K-Beauty has long been acknowledged as one of the most meticulous and result-oriented skincare regimens with detailed steps to achieve that spotless porcelain skin. No company has had a more profound or long-lasting impact on the production and innovation of beauty products than the South Korean juggernaut CTK.
Cosmetics Technics Korea has been pioneering research and development in Korea’s beauty sector since its incorporation 20 years ago. You might find yourself asking, “What’s so special about CTK that I should pay attention to what they’re doing?” The answer is simple: everything!
As a full-service manufacturing, packaging and development organization solely dedicated to making the use of cosmetics a sustainable and fulfilling experience, CTK is at the forefront of beauty innovation. With their new digital venture, they aim to extend this innovative capability to their customers directly. Let’s take a look at CTK CLIP- the online beauty innovation platform that aims to revolutionize the very process of development and consumption of cosmetics.
CTK’s Long History of Taking an Innovation-Oriented Approach
The company that is now virtually eponymous with beauty innovation was not always known for being involved with cosmetics. Started in 1979, Tai-Ka Co. was a manufacturing enterprise that specialized in metal manufacturing.
Over the course of 2 decades, Tai-Ka Co. transformed itself from a company that focused on metals to a cosmetics company that focused on research, development, innovation, brand management and quality assurance, giving birth to Cosmetics Technics Korea in 2001. However, the link with metals remains robust, as explained by founder, owner, and CEO Ian Chung in an interview.
CTK enjoys a particularly novel distinction in the industry- they are the first “factory-free” organization to provide 100% turnkey solutions to their clients. How do they achieve this? The method is quite unique yet straightforward; CTK dedicates itself to pioneering R&D efforts while entering agreements with manufacturing units in South Korea for production.
This achieves two things for their operations- it eliminates the logistics of having to procure and maintain multiple manufacturing units and allows them to focus completely on inventing products, formulas, packaging solutions, etc. CTK’s devotion to thoroughly researching every aspect of what goes into a beauty product has allowed them to invent several key innovations; in fact, the company has accrued 280 patents in the two decades it has existed off the strength of packaging advancements alone. CTK’s belief in the power of ideas plus technology has resulted in the introduction of several new products, market success and strengthened customer relationships. Chanel, Dior, L’Oréal, Fenty Beauty are just a few names in CTK’s long list of clients, with beauty brands- both major and small- showing immense faith in the Korean House of Beauty Innovation.
CLIP: Direct Company-Client Contact & User-Based Innovation
The COVID-19 pandemic compelled society to come up with creative solutions to the problems a global pandemic poses to the general populace. While self-isolation has long been associated with flattening the disease curve, its potential to help individuals explore more creative and productive outlets has exponentially increased thanks to the internet.
As of January 2021, 4.66 billion people have established a robust online presence. The year 2020 saw a dramatic increase in online consumption, be it content or purchases. While the internet has long been hailed as “the future of consumption”, 2020 signaled the early arrival of the future. As such, most brands had to take their businesses online and establish a close connection with their audience through the power of content.
CTK decided to take the road not taken and explore an opportunity that would allow them to not only engage their clients directly but also empower them to create custom turnkey products without the hassle of going through multiple stages of development.
What is CTK CLIP?
CTK CLIP is perhaps the most ambitious venture that the cosmetics industry has seen to date. A fully functioning online platform, CLIP allows users to create and produce their own beauty products with a little help from the experts at CTK. Users can simply log onto CLIP and choose from an offering of 5000 listings to create their ideal beauty product. CLIP aspires to inspire its users to “create endlessly.” The platform will see the addition of 30-50 listings every month, providing its users with a broad spectrum of options to pick and choose from and get to make their very own beauty product.
Clients can “clip” listings that they like and submit requests for the same. They can customize the entire product, from its nature to its package design, all in one place. CLIP has a quick response mechanism that makes it much easier for brands to speed up product development.
After submitting their requests, clients are contacted within 24 hours by a team of experts from CTK. After having a discussion with the team, the product goes into development and is ready to go in a matter of weeks. CLIP’s open platform is not just for the beauty giants. Small-time cosmetics companies can avail CLIP’s services just as easily and reasonably as any big-name operator in the market. It levels the playing field and gives the smaller companies an equal starting point. With CLIP, CTK aims to bring the world of cosmetics to the future and look at it from the consumer’s lens. It is a no-contact, digital platform that allows you to customize the product you want to manufacture down to the most minute details! You can even begin the production process within 24 hours if you so wish. And you get all that the whim of your fingertips.
CTK: A Trailblazer
Cosmetics Technics Korea’s motto is simple yet all-encompassing; they provide “BEAUTI-FULL” service to their clients. Earlier, it conveyed their focus on all aspects of a product from formulation to packaging and ensure that their product quality is of the highest standard. However, since the pandemic occurred, it is has become a mantra for the company itself. CTK has rapidly digitized its services to stay competitive in the ever-evolving market. While technology has already made its mark on the cosmetics industry, thanks to applications like L’Oréal’s “Beauty Lab,” CTK’S CLIP looks to transform the industry itself.
