Global Gong-gu · Overseas Influencers · K-Beauty

Your K-beauty brand, sold by overseas influencers to their own followers.

Group buying — Gong-gu (공동구매) — is how Korean creators move serious volume: a time-boxed, exclusive deal they sell directly to their audience. We run it for you abroad — sourcing vetted overseas influencers, managing seeding, content, and launch, and settling sales end-to-end. You supply the product. We supply the demand.

Markets: US · SEA · Japan · China · Middle East Vetted overseas creator network (5K–100K) Backed by Atypical Global
What is Gong-gu?

Group buying, the Korean way.

An influencer secures an exclusive, limited-time offer and sells it straight to their followers in a coordinated "drop." High trust, high conversion, real revenue — not just impressions. We bring this proven domestic model to overseas creators built for your target markets.

The problem

Going global is slow, costly, and opaque.

Finding and vetting overseas creators from Korea is hard. Seeding budgets vanish into "sample-looting." And paid ads cost more every quarter for less trust.

🌏

No overseas creator network

Sourcing, vetting, and managing creators across the US, SEA, Japan, and China — in their language — is a full-time operation you don't have.

📦

Seeding gets looted

You ship free product and get nothing back. Without contracts and response-rate screening, samples disappear with no content and no sales.

📉

Ads buy reach, not trust

Group buys convert because a trusted creator recommends and sells in one motion — something a paid impression can't replicate.

How a group buy runs

Eight steps, fully managed.

From influencer selection to settlement — we run the entire Gong-gu cycle so your team doesn't have to.

Selection & proposal

We match creators to your brand, share the offer, and confirm their interest.

Product testing

The creator uses the product for 1–4 weeks and assesses fit and sales potential.

Confirm the buy

We negotiate schedule, terms, and commission and finalize the group-buy agreement.

Content & guidelines

We share messaging and selling points and align filming and upload schedules.

Pre-viral teaser

Stories and daily posts build anticipation and surface early inquiries.

Content & launch prep

Feed, Reels, and Stories are produced and queued with purchase links and benefits.

Open the market

The group buy goes live; we operate it, answer inquiries, and monitor sales in real time.

Close & settle

We consolidate sales, settle commissions and fees, and deliver a results report.

Packages

Four ways to work with us.

Most brands start with a DM lead test, then move to the managed Full Package. Every plan pairs a monthly fee with performance-based commission.

Product 2 · Recommended entry

DM Outreach Guarantee

A test product to prove the channel before you commit.

$8,000–$15,000
for 5,000–10,000 targeted DMs
  • Guaranteed outreach volume
  • Qualified creator/lead conversations
  • Lowest-risk way to start
  • Feeds straight into a Full Package
Start here
Product 3

Lite

A lean entry point for smaller brands.

$1,500–$2,200/mo
  • Creator database access
  • Basic MD support
  • 4 feed posts / month
  • 4–5 Reels / month
Apply
Product 4

Success-Fee

Lower fixed cost, more upside on results.

$1,200–$1,800/mo
+ 12–15% commission on overseas sales
  • Base management fee
  • Performance-weighted commission
  • Best when volume is the priority
  • Aligned incentives
Apply

Product cost, international shipping, and packaging for seeding are billed to the brand at cost. Final terms confirmed on a strategy call.

Full transparency

Exactly where your money goes.

Two costs drive a group buy: seeding (getting product into creators' hands) and settlement (splitting the revenue it generates). Here's the honest breakdown.

🎁 Seeding — how product sampling works

Product, intl. shipping & packagingBrand, at cost
Included in Full Package20–50 / mo
Excess seedings (mgmt + shipping)$30–$50 / unit
Standalone 50-person campaign$3,500–$5,500
Success-fee option$20–$30 + 5–8%

We screen for high-response creators and write minimum-content terms into every contract to prevent "sample-looting." Seeding cost is kept to product level — and is recoverable through actual group-buy sales.

💱 Settlement — how revenue is split

Influencer commission15–20%
Agency commission~20%
Total share of group-buy revenue35–40%
Optional creator advertising feeNegotiated

Some larger creators charge a separate advertising fee (content production + channel usage) on top of commission. Final terms are confirmed in negotiation with each individual influencer — and shared with you before launch.

We break the full creator-deal landscape down — with real numbers — in our series The Dirty Little Secrets of Creator Marketing.

Why it works

The brands winning K-beauty did it with creators, not ads.

Group buying is the most concentrated form of the creator-led commerce that built today's breakout K-beauty brands — a trusted creator, a warm audience, and a real reason to buy now.

medicube
#1 US TikTok Shop seller

~$65.9M GMV in Q1 2026, built on creator affiliate content.

Anua
#1 toner at Olive Young

Heartleaf toner rode creator tutorials to multi-year demand.

COSRX
Viral → Amorepacific

Snail mucin essence went viral on TikTok; now an Amorepacific brand.

Beauty of Joseon
Niche → global leader

Grew into a global sunscreen leader on organic creator word-of-mouth.

See the full breakdown in our guide to group buying and the 7 types of influencer marketing.

Why Atypical Beauty

Built for K-beauty going global.

We're a K-beauty trade network first — group buying is how we turn reach into revenue in your target markets.

🗂️

Overseas creator Hot-DB

A vetted, growing database of international beauty creators (5K–100K) on IG, TikTok & YouTube.

🗣️

Local-language selling

English + local-language selling points and an "affectionate nickname" strategy tuned to each market.

🎬

Global Reels supply

15+ short-form templates and multilingual feed guides engineered for conversion.

🔁

Encore system

Winning group buys get re-run on a schedule to compound revenue, not one-and-done.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

What exactly is a group buy (Gong-gu)?

A trusted creator secures an exclusive, time-boxed offer on your product and sells it directly to their followers in a coordinated drop. It's the dominant influencer-commerce model in Korea — we run it for overseas creators in your target markets.

Which markets and platforms do you cover?

The US, Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia), Japan, China (Xiaohongshu), and the Middle East — across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and local platforms.

Who pays for seeding (free product)?

The brand covers product cost, international shipping, and packaging at cost (with receipts). We manage selection, outreach, shipping tracking, anti-looting terms, and reporting. Seeding stays at product-cost level and is recoverable through sales.

How is the revenue split?

Typically 15–20% to the influencer and ~20% to the agency — 35–40% of group-buy revenue in total. Some creators add a separate advertising fee. Every deal is confirmed in writing before launch.

How should we start?

Most brands begin with the DM Outreach Guarantee to prove the channel, then graduate to the 6-month managed Full Package. Smaller brands can start on Lite.

Who owns the content?

Content ownership and usage rights (including for whitelisting / paid amplification) are set in the creator agreement, and we structure them in your favor wherever possible.

Apply

Ready to launch your first group buy?

Tell us about your brand. If it's a fit, we'll come back within one business day with a launch plan.

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