kakaomakers

Name

kakaomakers

Legal name

(주)카카오

Website

https://makers.kakao.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Marketplace

NAICS

All Other Miscellaneous Retailers (45999)

SIC

Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses (5961)

akta.pro primary industry

Mass-Market Multi-category (1P/3P) Marketplaces (CRAFAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty & Artisanal Online Food Marketplaces (AFAIAMAG)

Keywords

• Online marketplace
• Curated retail
• Korean products
• SME distribution
• Pre-order platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Jeju (제주시)

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Marketplace Transaction Commission: Kakao Makers operates as a curated marketplace where individual sellers and brands list products for sale. The platform facilitates transactions between sellers and buyers, taking a commission on sales. Some products are explicitly flagged as '중개 판매' (intermediated sales) where (주)카카오는 is described as a '통신판매중개자' (communication sales intermediary), noting that (주)카카오 bears no direct responsibility for the transaction.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

kakaomakers is a curated online marketplace platform that aggregates product offerings from small manufacturers, SMEs, farmers, and local producers for Korean consumers, spanning categories such as food, beauty, living, tech, fashion, and travel. The platform enables third-party sellers to reach consumers through a single storefront with integrated payment, logistics, and promotional mechanics, including pre-order and limited-edition campaigns.

Product overview

Kakao Makers (카카오메이커스) is a curated e-commerce marketplace platform operated by Kakao that connects consumers with small Korean businesses and manufacturers. The platform operates across multiple product verticals including food (Hanwoo beef, seafood, seasonal produce, traditional Korean foods), beauty (skincare, haircare, makeup), living/household goods, tech/appliances, fashion, and travel packages. The platform features specialized programs like '새가버치' (Daily Upcycle) for paper pack recycling and 'ECO SEED' for social/environmental contributions. Product offerings range from individual items like wireless fans, drainage solutions, and undershorts to curated promotional campaigns like the Beauty Big Sale and seasonal food promotions. The platform emphasizes supporting small businesses through programs labeled '#중소기업판로지원' and regional economic activation '#지역경제활성화'.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• kakaomakers Marketplace Platform Curated online marketplace where third-party Korean sellers (small manufacturers, farmers, local producers, SMEs) list and sell products across food, beauty, living, tech, fashion, and travel categories to individual Korean consumers, with integrated KakaoPay checkout, KakaoTalk sharing, and promotional campaign mechanics including pre-orders and limited editions.
• 새가버치 (Daily Upcycle) Program Sustainability-focused program on the kakaomakers platform that promotes upcycling, recycling, and reuse, featuring product lines designed around circular-economy principles. Targets environmentally conscious Korean consumers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Some products on Kakao Makers record high order volumes (e.g., Hongik Sanghoe 쭈꾸미볶음 with 60,662 cumulative orders; Korea's economy Gaettegi 한우 삼계탕 with 1,095 current orders; various products with 500–2,000+ orders during active campaigns)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Ministry of SMEs and Startups (중소벤처기업부)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 March 2026The Ministry of SMEs and Startups launched the 'Regional Manufacturing Innovation Voucher Pilot Project' (총 예산 42억 원) to support collaboration between startups and small manufacturers. Kakao Makers is listed as one of two private follow-up market development platforms (alongside Wadiz) for successful consortia teams that complete the voucher-funded prototype development phase. This provides Kakao Makers with a pipeline of new Korean-made products and reinforces its SME support positioning.
• 매일유업 (Daily Milk)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021매일유업 (Daily Milk) co-sponsors the '새가버치' (Daily Upcycle) program on Kakao Makers, which collects used paper packs from consumers for recycling. 매일유업 supports the program by sponsoring rewards and visibility, while Kakao Makers operates the platform and logistics. This is Kakao Makers' most visible brand partnership, running since 2021.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• 11st (11번가): 11st is one of Korea's leading multi-category online marketplaces, originally backed by SK Telecom. It competes with Kakao Makers across broad categories including food, beauty, living, and tech, though without the curation/impact-driven differentiation.
• Tmon: Tmon is a Korean deal/discount-driven marketplace known for limited-time promotional events. It competes with Kakao Makers' campaign-heavy promotional model (e.g., Beauty Big Sale, seasonal food promotions) at greater scale.
• Kurly (Market Kurly): Kurly is a Korean curated grocery/food delivery platform with a focus on quality and direct-from-producer sourcing. It overlaps with Kakao Makers' food vertical (Hanwoo beef, seasonal produce, local fisheries products) and serves a similar health-conscious, premium Korean consumer segment.
• Coupang: Coupang is the dominant Korean e-commerce platform with rocket delivery logistics, broad multi-category inventory, and massive marketing budgets. It overlaps with Kakao Makers in food, beauty, living, and tech categories, but competes on scale and delivery speed rather than curation or SME support.
• Naver Smartstore: Naver Smartstore is Naver's third-party marketplace integrated with Korea's dominant search engine. It is a direct marketplace competitor serving Korean SMBs and consumers across multi-category goods, competing for the same Kakao Makers sellers and buyers via different parent ecosystem (Naver).
• Gmarket / Auction (eBay Korea): Gmarket (now under Emart/Shinsegae) is a legacy Korean online marketplace with broad multi-category coverage. It overlaps with Kakao Makers across general merchandise, fashion, and lifestyle, though it is more transactional and less curation-driven.
• SSG.com: SSG.com is a major Korean e-commerce platform backed by Shinsegae Group, offering multi-category retail with strong curated/premium positioning. It overlaps with Kakao Makers in food, beauty, and lifestyle categories, particularly around domestic premium Korean brands.

Direct peers

• Etsy: Etsy is a global curated marketplace for handmade, artisan, and small-business products. It is a strong analog to Kakao Makers in its curation-driven, SME-supporting marketplace model focused on differentiated/mission-driven products rather than mass-market commodity goods.
• Wadiz: Wadiz is Korea's leading crowdfunding/curated marketplace platform. It is the only platform named alongside Kakao Makers as an official follow-up market development channel for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Regional Manufacturing Innovation Voucher Pilot, making it the closest comparable — a curated SME/creator marketplace serving Korean domestic consumers.

Regional players

• Storybook (스토리북) / The Snack: Storybook (and similar 'Korean subscription/discovery commerce' players such as The Snack and Kurly's Snack) represent a category of curated discovery commerce for Korean artisan/SME products. They overlap with Kakao Makers' curation and SME-support model, often via subscription boxes or limited-edition drops rather than open marketplace.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about kakaomakers