While Wadizis a platform that supports brands in their challenges, there is also a team that works with them to plan the “next steps” of those challenges.
Wadiznone other than ‘Wadiz Partners’.
Wadizis Wadizspecialized investment subsidiary (a private equity fund manager and venture capital firm). The teammakes follow-on investments in brands that have demonstrated their potential throughWadiz, as well as in startups across various sectors , and works closely with them to chart a path for growth followingthe investment . Beyond financial support, we maintain ongoing partnerships to help brands gain market validation and advance to the next stage.
Throughout 2025, Wadizhas worked alongside various brands to foster mutual growth. As the year comes to a close, we have organized the 2025 Value-up Day event to reflect on this journey.
I’ll share the stories we exchanged on-site—how the brand has grown through its challenges, and the choices and changes it has undergone along the way.
Next Step, Together – The Path to Growth Forged by WadizNext Brand
First, we looked back at how NEXT BRAND, a company in which Wadizhas invested, has grown.
"Next Brand" isa core program Wadiz. It is a growth support program designed to help small brands that have garnered support from backers through crowdfunding leap forward into lifestyle unicorn (Licon) companiesthrough investment and follow-up support.
Sokang Seop, CEO of Wadiz, sharing the achievements of Wadiz Next Wadiz
Starting with seven brands in 2022,Next Brand has expanded its portfolio to 18 brands in 2023, 20 brands in 2024, and 22 brands in 2025, broadening the range of brands it partners with each year.
Revenue generated by these brands also grew from 24.8 billion won in 2023 and 38.1 billion won in 2024 to 75 billion won in 2025. These achievements demonstrate that Next Brand is continuing to grow and move toward the next stage.
Wadiz Next Brand Season 4 – KOOZA, TAMIM, Seolrae
Recently, three brands—the premium stainless steel kitchenware brand ‘KOOZA,’ the underwear brand ‘TAMIM,’ andthe premium traditional Korean medicine food brand ‘Seol-arae’—have joined Wadizas part of the ‘Next Brand 4th Cohort.’
Soh Kang-seop, CEO of Wadiz, sharing Next Brand’s plans for 2026
Wadizannounced plans to further strengthen its support to help Next Brand achieve stable growth in the coming years.
For existing Next brands, we will continue to providean “action-oriented value-up package”that includes investment and commercialization funding, dedicated funding, data-driven growth consulting, and joint product development and distribution partnerships.
Additionally, for new Next brands, we plan to work together to design product pre-launches, market validation, follow-up investments, and various growth scenarios through annual project management.
Through this, Wadizplans to further solidify its role as a partner that works alongside clients to foster sustainable brand growth, going beyond short-term results.
We Are The Next Brand – Our Growth Story
This was followed by a session where we shared the growth stories of the brands currently partnered with Next Brand.
From "Traditional Korean Foods You'd Like to Give as Gifts" to a Brand Asset
The first brand to present was Seol-Ae, a health food brand that reinterprets traditional Korean herbal ingredients in a modern way.
From the very beginning, Seolrae was founded on the clear principle of creating “traditional Korean herbal foods that we would want to give as gifts to those we cherish more than ourselves,” and this philosophy has guided every aspect of our product development and branding.
They shared the story of how, after validating market response through Wadiz crowdfunding—from “Century-Old Triple-Cultivated Ginseng,” which raised approximately 650 million won in cumulative funding, to “Royal Ssanghwa Pills,” a pill-form version of Ssanghwa tea—they gradually expanded their product lineup while actively incorporating supporter feedback, leading to simultaneous growth in brand sales and repeat purchase rates.
Throughout this process, Seolrae partnered Wadizas a Next Brand, enabling the company to continue refining its brand direction even as it entered the growth phase following the investment.
Ji Jong-hwan, CEO of Seol-Ae, sharing the brand’s story
It was particularly impressive to see how the company is steadily building a loyal customer base through CRM-based customer managementand personalized marketing tailored to customers’ purchasing preferences, with the brand name itself becoming a benchmark for trust.
Seolrae isnow moving beyond a single-brand strategy to develop a multi-brand strategy based on its manufacturing capabilities and expertise in traditional Korean medicine, while alsopreparing expansion plans with an eye toward overseas markets. The company shared its vision to create the next phase of growth by expanding its brand from “Seolrae” to “Seorae Bio.”
POREN: From a function-focused bedding brand to a brand with a ‘market strategy’
Following that, [Brand Name] shared its brand story POREN(Poren) is a bedding brand that has grown by highlighting the functionality of its products, particularly its “cervical pillows.”
Foren has earned the market’s trust by raising acumulative total of 1 billion wonthrough Wadiz crowdfunding, and in 2023, it clearly demonstrated its brand competitiveness by ranking first in Wadiz Home Living category.
Foren's cervical pillow, which fans kept asking for an encore
The company explained that while it initially focused on the product’s quality itself when developing sleep products in collaboration with local German researchers, it refined its brand strategy by closely examining supporters’ actual purchasing contexts and user experiences through the Wadiz crowdfunding campaign. It emphasized that understanding “who chooses this product and under what circumstances” is the key factor determining the brand’s future growth, rather than short-term sales.
Kang Ji-jun, CEO of Diggimi International (Foren), shares the story of Foren’s growth
Foren stated that, as a Next brand partner Wadizthroughout the process, it was able to review and expand its product strategy and brand direction even during the growth phase following the funding round.
Moving forward, Foren plans to expand into larger markets by launching new brands focused on fabric care solutions and sleep solutions for infants and toddlers. We look forward to Foren’s next phase as it expands beyond home living to become a solution brand that addresses issues across all aspects of daily life.
ONGREDIENTS – K-Beauty Expanding Globally with Its Hero Products
Next Brand, the final presenter ONGREDIENTS(ONGREDIENTS) is a skincare brand that is rapidly growing and expanding its presence in the global market, centered around its hero product, the “Calming Lotion,” which drives the brand’s sales.
Kim Young-ho, Director at PowerPlayer (OnGridiants), sharing an update on OnGridiants’ global expansion
OnGridiants currently exports to 40 countriesand is building its brand value by leveraging its global sales capabilities. Its flagship product, the “Calming Lotion,” has grown to sellan average of approximately 60,000 unitsper month, establishing itself as a key product driving the brand’s revenue. The company shared its plan to continue its growth strategy centered on hero products, with a goal of selling 100,000 unitsper month next year.
The presentation also provided specific details on how a strategy centered on hero items led to actual sales growth. OnIngredients reported that sales volume had grown approximately threefoldyear-over-year, driven primarily by its "power player" products—that is, its hero items.
Our strategy moving forward is also clear. OnGridiants plans to focus on the North American market as its core target, internalizing operations on Amazon and TikTok Shop by 2025, and significantly expanding its marketing efforts in 2026 to further strengthen its position as a global brand.
At the end of the presentation,he also expressed his gratitude to Wadiz. “Despite the limitations on brand marketing, Wadizprovided us with many opportunities to promote our brand,”he said, adding, “We will continue our aggressive brand marketing efforts next year to ensure we achieve our goals.”
“2025 Value-Up Day”was an opportunity to review the achievements of Next Brand over the past year alongside Wadizand to prepare for future growth. In 2025, we plan to continue pursuing various initiatives—including brand development, distribution partnerships, and global expansion—from a long-term perspective to help the brand take another leap forward.
The reason for sharing our achievements is clear: to reflect on the growth we’ve achieved together and use that growth as a springboard to go even further.
Wadizwill continue to serve as a partner that works alongside brands to chart their "next phase of growth."
