Source: TikTok Shop data, May to 26 Oct 2026.
Where they started
Kulfi Beauty is a premium make-up brand that launched in the UK from America. Its products sell at a premium price.
Before May 2026 it had no sales on TikTok Shop UK. The brand wanted to win there as a premium brand, not as the cheapest option.
Our approach: sell the product, not the price. Promotions are part of every make-up shop on TikTok Shop, so we made sure shoppers saw why Kulfi is worth more: ads found the right shoppers, creators showed the colour on real skin, and our LIVEs answered every question before they bought.
A category built on discounts. UK make-up on TikTok Shop is squeezed by constant price promotions.
Premium against £7. Some competitors sell make-up for £7, free shipping included.
A new name in the UK. UK shoppers didn’t know Kulfi yet, so they needed a reason to pay more.
What we did
Ads that find shoppers who pay for quality
Rather than competing on price alone, we used GMV Max to reach shoppers already buying premium make-up, and put spend behind the creator videos that were selling. We split campaigns by product, so each one had its own budget and its own best videos. The ads did the finding; the content did the convincing.
How a creator video runs as a GMV Max ad
Creator video by @jodie1303
May to Aug 2026. Source: TikTok Shop data.
Creators showed why it’s worth the premium price
Seeing the colour on real skin is what sells premium make-up. We grew Kulfi’s creator base from 82 in its launch month to more than 700 by August, and affiliates drove about half of July’s GMV. Every video sent interested shoppers on to our LIVEs.
LIVEs that sealed the sale
On Kulfi’s own TikTok page we ran regular mid-week and seasonal LIVEs, sampling the range and answering questions as they came in. By July, LIVEs brought in 37% of the month’s GMV, and a quarter of all GMV since launch.
A LIVE on Kulfi’s own TikTok page
From zero to 30× monthly GMV in two months
Kulfi had no TikTok Shop sales before May. Within three months, monthly GMV was more than 30 times its launch month, and July was more than double June.
June 2026 = 100. Source: TikTok Shop data.
May to Aug 2026. Source: TikTok Shop data.
Value.
Premium brands don’t have to be the cheapest to win on TikTok Shop. With the right creators, LIVEs and ads, premium-priced products found their buyers in a £7 market, and we’re proud of the brand Kulfi has built in the UK.
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