Streaming for success: Men’s K-beauty brand Tieso betting on live commerce to help penetrate tough Singapore market

The brand offers a range of skin care, hair care, shaving and hygiene products that range from around S$35 to S$70.

Some of its top products include a deodorising foot spray and a spray-type sunscreen that claims to have a non-sticky finish that will not leave a white cast.

Its products feature ingredients such as maca root extract, which has anti-bacterial properties, making them unique within the category, especially now that hygiene top-of-mind because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Now we all notice there are a lot of bacteria, even on the face. Our products are very unique with this anti-bacterial function that at the same time, helps with anti-ageing as well,”​ said Will Jeong, sales and marketing director of Tieso Singapore.

The three-year-old brand recently set up in Singapore with a partner that has experience distributing K-beauty products in the local cosmetics market, including MILIL, a skin care brand that develops products made with red bean extract from Haenam, South Korea.

While the male beauty market has taken off in its home market, the company is well aware that it is facing an uphill climb in Singapore.

“It’s not easy to penetrate the market in Singapore but we just know that this market is only going up. That’s why we want to push these products,”​ said Charlie Park, managing director of Tieso Singapore.

Jeong echoed confidence in the men’s cosmetics market. “It will grow definitely; we are very positive about this. There are many ladies’ cosmetics, but not much for men in Singapore. Even though we have to think about difference in culture and how this is a tropical region… It’s time for men to take care of themselves, that’s why we believe it’s a good time to enter the market.”​

Tapping into live commerce

One of the hurdles the company faces is the lack of awareness of skin care and skin health among men. In order to overcome this, the company is tapping into live commerce to push the brand in the market.

With live streaming, it would be able to communicate the product benefits, and crucially, how to use the products to its potential consumers.

Furthermore, it would be able to help the brand establish a connection and engage with consumers in a way an ordinary e-commerce platform would not be able to.

Park noted that this is crucial considering Singapore’s uncertain retail climate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, the company is in talks with two local live commerce companies.

Additionally, it is hoping to expand its brand awareness among its target market through local sports sponsorships.

This strategy has worked well for the brand in Korea, where it is the sponsor for the Korean baseball team, KT Wiz.

Aside from South Korea and Singapore, the brand is also available overseas in the US.

The company said it would eventually explore the possibility of expanding the brand further across the South East Asian region. However, Park noted that the company is not in a hurry to expand and would be taking a “step-by-step” ​approach to growth.