Mayacrew, "Automating the Global Voyage of K-Brands with Data and AI”

- Mayacrew developed Cosduck, an AI-powered marketing platform that helps
  Korean brands expand globally by automating influencer collaborations, 
  campaign management, and performance analysis, especially on TikTok Shop.
- The company proved Cosduck’s effectiveness by launching its own brands, 
  achieving notable success such as a viral seaweed product featured 
  by Cardi B.
- With a strong focus on cultural understanding and real-time data analysis, 
  Mayacrew aims to become the leading one-stop solution for K-brands 
  entering international markets.


One day in 2025, American superstar Cardi B tasted Korean spicy seaweed during a livestream on her social media channel. She praised the flavor in front of millions of viewers, and the product quickly sold out. The surprising part: the seaweed wasn’t from a major food company, but from a new brand.

That spicy seaweed was a private brand (PB) created to showcase the power of Cosduck, a global marketing platform developed by Mayacrew. Cosduck provides data-driven targeting, automated collaboration with creators, and market trend analysis to maximize marketing performance. Cardi B’s choice was no coincidence.

Jun-ho Oh, CEO of Mayacrew (right), speaks with Soo-young Park (left) and Hyun Lim (center), team leads at Mayacrew / Source=Mayacrew

As live video platforms become a driving force in consumption, many Korean brands struggle to keep pace. With Cosduck, Mayacrew positions itself as the “global navigator” for domestic brands. How does the company use Cosduck to support global expansion? We asked CEO Jun-ho Oh.

Entering the U.S. Market with K-Beauty: Finding Opportunities in TikTok Affiliate

The U.S. market is both attractive and highly challenging for Korean consumer goods companies. Its scale makes performance forecasting difficult, and competition is fierce. Today, TikTok is the platform shaping U.S. consumer trends. CEO Oh emphasized, “When it comes to marketing consumer brands in the U.S., TikTok is practically the only option.”

In the U.S., TikTok is more than just a social media platform. Its built-in TikTok Shop rivals Amazon or Coupang. Through affiliate marketing, creators insert product links in their videos and earn commissions from sales. Because their earnings are tied directly to performance, creators actively promote products.

Yet affiliate marketing still demands heavy manual work. Brand marketers must endlessly search for creators, send out emails and messages, negotiate contracts, and later compile fragmented performance data using multiple tools.

Cosduck app interface / Source=Mayacrew

Recognizing this inefficiency, Oh developed Cosduck, which automates most of the process—from identifying U.S.-based influencers to managing collaborations. With just a few resources, Korean brands can now run effective campaigns in the U.S.

Cosduck has built a network of 14,000 TikTok creators in the U.S. Campaigns can be launched with a few clicks, and once creators apply, the system automatically manages shipping details and sends reminders as deadlines approach. This allows marketers to focus on strategy and results instead of repetitive coordination.

Performance tracking is another differentiator. TikTok’s native analytics tools are fragmented and difficult to interpret. Cosduck integrates all performance data into a single dashboard—showing which creators generated the most revenue, which products sold best, and the overall ROAS (return on ad spend). This unified view enables data-driven decisions.

Beyond automation, Mayacrew leverages AI to improve marketing quality. Its generative AI-based content guide analyzes successful videos and provides creative blueprints: how to craft an engaging hook in the first three seconds, scene-by-scene storytelling to highlight product appeal, and persuasive calls-to-action.

Cosduck also offers an AI-powered customer service agent. When inquiries arrive via TikTok Shop, the chatbot responds instantly, reducing repetitive workloads and handing over complex issues to human agents when necessary.

Proving Cosduck’s Value Through Mayacrew’s Own Brands

Mayacrew has launched its own brands to validate Cosduck’s effectiveness. It began with a K-beauty brand and later introduced a spicy seaweed brand in the K-food sector. Within just a month, Cardi B featured the seaweed during a livestream, proving Cosduck’s reach.

“The seaweed brand recorded exceptionally high ROAS, which clearly demonstrates Cosduck’s value,” Oh said. “Rather than trying to persuade clients with words, we show them tangible results through our own usage.”

Mayacrew’s growth, Oh emphasized, is driven not only by technology but also by people. “To succeed globally, you need global talent,” he said. The company focuses on building “global DNA” into its team—understanding cultural contexts, empathizing with consumers, and connecting authentically with local creators.

Marketing strategy is led by Soo-young Park, while Hyun Lim, who spent nine years in the Middle East, brings valuable cultural insight. Together, they embody Oh’s vision of a team that adapts quickly and thinks globally.

“Global marketing is impossible without understanding local culture,” Lim said. “Every Cosduck team member has lived abroad, which helps us empathize with local consumers and respond flexibly.”

Mayacrew team cultivating “global DNA” in its organization / Source=Mayacrew

Park added, “There are more opportunities than ever for Korean consumer goods companies to expand internationally. But as AI and machine learning-based automation become widespread, marketing performance depends increasingly on content. To lead, we must study and analyze both content and consumer trends thoroughly. Our team excels in quick adaptation and execution.”

Cosduck’s team intuitively captures local humor, memes, and communication styles—elements that no translation tool can replicate. From word choice to visuals, these cultural nuances are vital for localization, and Cosduck ensures they are applied effectively.

Expanding Cosduck Across TikTok Shop Markets

According to Oh, the greatest challenge is TikTok’s unpredictable pace of change. Strategies like free product seeding worked until early 2024 but quickly lost effectiveness. Today, affiliate marketing dominates, but what works now may fail tomorrow. In such an environment, relying on static playbooks means falling behind.

To adapt, Mayacrew invested heavily in TikTok data collection, tracking market trends in real time. Though costly, this approach has become essential. In addition to analyzing its own campaigns, Mayacrew monitors the broader TikTok beauty and food ecosystems, identifying macro trends to adjust quickly.

Mayacrew plans to expand Cosduck’s proven model globally / Source=Mayacrew

Their confidence is backed by numbers. Over 40 K-beauty brands—including Olive Young’s PB Colorgram, Round Lab, SKIN1004, and Tocobo—have adopted Cosduck. Revenue grew from KRW 2 billion in 2023 to KRW 4.2 billion in 2024, with a target of KRW 10 billion in 2025.

Mayacrew is supported by the AWS Jungle Program, jointly hosted by Seoul National University of Science and Technology and AWS. The program provided feedback from AWS headquarters on architecture, as well as opportunities for overseas investment and partnerships. “The AWS Jungle Program and Seoul National University of Science and Technology served as invaluable bridges to help Mayacrew step onto the global stage,” Oh said.

Looking ahead, Mayacrew envisions itself as the indispensable one-stop solution for all Korean consumer goods brands aiming to expand globally. By 2025, the company plans to extend Cosduck to every major TikTok Shop market worldwide. A Japanese subsidiary is underway, with further expansion into Europe, the UAE, Southeast Asia, and Mexico.

By Hyung-seok Kang (redbk@itdonga.com)

* This article was written with support from Seoul National University of Science and Technology.