[Donga Economy News] “From One Month to One Day”: Trendier AI Co-CEO Kei Chun on Reinventing Product Planning with AI

K-Beauty Presents the Vision of an ‘AI Hybrid Team’: “AI Is Not a Tool, but a Core Teammate” AI-Powered Organizational Innovation Model Unveiled at Amazon Beauty in Seoul

[Donga Economy News] “From One Month to One Day”: Trendier AI Co-CEO Kei Chun on Reinventing Product Planning with AI

This article is originally posted by Donga Economy News on September 26, 2025 Article. To read the full feature, please visit the link below:

▲ Kei Chun, Co-CEO of Trendier AI, presents the “hybrid team” model as a new success formula for K-beauty at Amazon Beauty in Seoul 2025, an event held on the 19th to share strategies for supporting the global expansion of K-beauty brands. / Photo courtesy of Trendier AI

[Donga Economy News] At the ‘Amazon Beauty in Seoul 2025’ event held on the 19th, Trendier AI (Co-CEOs Son Jung-wook and Kei Chun)—an AI data solution for the beauty industry operated by MeasureCommerce—proposed a "Hybrid Team" model as the new success formula for K-Beauty. This model suggests accepting AI not merely as a simple tool, but as a core "colleague."

This event served as a venue where key executives from Amazon’s global beauty divisions—including the US, Japan, Australia, and South America—visited Korea to share strategies supporting the global expansion of K-Beauty brands. It was held on the largest scale ever, with 1,000 offline attendees and over 5,000 online registrants.

Q: After listening to your presentation at the recent ‘Amazon Beauty in Seoul 2025,’ many people are rethinking the importance of AI. You mentioned that we should accept AI as a ‘core colleague’ rather than a simple tool. What is the reason for this?

Kei Chun, Co-CEO: AI is no longer just an automation tool. The reason we must accept AI as a "core colleague" is that it possesses the ability to generate results with us.

Particularly in the K-Beauty industry, AI can drive innovation through efficiency across various fields such as R&D, product planning, and marketing.

For example, in the past, predicting consumer reactions to tens of thousands of ingredient combinations took over a month. Now, thanks to AI, it is possible in just a single day. This reduces the risk of new product development and allows us to respond to the market much faster.

Q: Can you explain specifically how AI is being utilized in the product planning stage?

Kei Chun: Certainly. AI analyzes hundreds of thousands of review data points in real-time to identify "Unmet Needs."

Through this, product planners can now complete market research and new product planning reports—which used to take substantial time using traditional methods—in just a few hours.

This process helps us better understand the voice of the consumer and rapidly develop products that match those needs. The analysis results provided by AI are not just simple data, but insights that reflect actual consumer demands.

Q: I heard that the role of AI is also growing in the marketing field. what changes have occurred?

Kei Chun: AI is bringing about major changes in marketing as well. By learning from competitor promotions and consumer reaction data, AI immediately suggests optimal A/B testing strategies and ad creative plans.

As a result, campaign preparation periods have been shortened from weeks to a daily basis, enabling agile execution. AI quickly catches consumer reactions that we might easily miss and helps us establish immediate marketing strategies based on them.

Q: What do you think is the most important element in utilizing AI?

Kei Chun: For the successful utilization of AI, "accurately structured market data" is essential.

One of the biggest weaknesses of AI is the "Hallucination" problem. To solve this, verified data must be supplied in real-time. Only when high-quality data is combined with AI can 10x productivity be achieved.

Therefore, the quality and structuring of data are the key elements that determine AI performance.

Q: Finally, what are your thoughts on leadership in the AI era?

Kei Chun: Leadership in the AI era must be very different from the past. If the leader of the past was a drill instructor training soldiers, the leader of today must be a commander directing a fleet of thousands of AI drones.

To utilize AI effectively, a shift in perspective is necessary. If leaders do not change the way they work with AI, it is difficult to expect a 10-fold improvement in productivity. AI is our colleague and a partner with whom we can grow.

Q: Thank you. We look forward to a brighter future for K-Beauty alongside AI.

Kei Chun: Likewise. Cooperation with AI is essential for K-Beauty to achieve sustainable growth in the global market. We ask for your continued interest.