Estée Lauder invests in community beauty start-up Kiki World

The American cosmetics group Estée Lauder, via its New Incubation Ventures (NIV) fund, has participated alongside several tech players in the first round of financing for Kiki World, a Californian beauty start-up. The total value of the deal is $7 million (€6.5 million).

Launched in May 2023 by Jana Bobosikova, Brendon Garner and Ricky Chan, Kiki World offers its customers the opportunity to participate in the creation of beauty products. Unlike other brands that develop cosmetics with their customers, notably via social networks, Kiki World offers its community the opportunity to connect to its own platform, which is based on the blockchain infrastructure. In return for their commitment, consumers receive points for free products, as well as digital tokens within the company.

For now, Kiki World has launched a handful of products, including Pretty Nail Graffiti, a nail varnish pen that can be removed like a peel ($29). Consumers are currently being invited to choose the next colour that Kiki World will make.

“The consumer is the Estée Lauder Group’s priority, which is why we are excited by the vision of the Kiki team. The brand, with its personalised platform, harnesses the cutting edge of Web3 technology to rethink how consumers can co-create with brands. This consumer-centric model offers the Estée Lauder Group a valuable window into the future of beauty,” explains Shana Randhava, Senior Vice President of New Incubation Ventures, which had already invested in Kiki World back in 2022, even before its launch.
 
Kiki World, which will be expanding its product range, is also expected to offer new tools for other brands.
 
Launched in 2021 by Estée Lauder, NIV has also invested in British natural skincare and fragrance brand Haeckels, and Chinese brands Melt Season and Code Mint.