[Kyung Hee University Campus Town Startups 2025] "Gears' Company," a startup operating a functional candy brand that the whole family can trust

Ian Paik, CEO of Gears' Company

Product lineup expanded from Morning Sickness Candy for pregnant women to Energizing Garlic Candy for middle-aged individuals
Just three pieces provide the recommended daily intake of zinc

Gears' Company is a startup that operates a functional candy brand. It was founded in October 2023 by CEO Ian Paik (28).

Paik said, "Together with my co-founder and Vice-CEO, David Jeong, we started this business with the desire to incorporate health and sincerity into everyday snacks. We are making various candies, intending to create healthy candies that the whole family can enjoy and trust."

Gears' Company doesn't just make candy; it creates a brand that addresses people's health concerns through candy.

Its first product, Shield Candy, launched in September 2024. It targets women in their 30s and 40s who are concerned about their immunity. Shield Candy is designed to boost immunity with zinc, chestnut honey, and propolis. A startup support program in Seongnam City successfully commercialized the product. Approximately 300 customers participated in the Wadiz crowdfunding campaign, raising nearly 15 million won and providing positive feedback such as "delicious" and "great gift."

"Gears' Company is gradually expanding its product line. Currently, we are developing Morning Sickness Candy to help relieve morning sickness in pregnant women and Garlic Candy to replenish vitality in middle-aged individuals. These are not just simple snacks but functional candies that address the specific health concerns of their target groups. We will not rest on the success of one product, but rather, we will continue to develop a customized candy lineup tailored to each life stage and health concern."

Gears' Company's greatest competitive advantage is that its candies are "truly effective and delicious." "First, there is the effectiveness of the functional ingredients," said Paik. "Many vitamin candies on the market look healthy, but their actual content is often minimal."

"We didn't believe we could add any ingredients we wanted just because it was a snack. In the case of Shield Candy, we added enough zinc so that just three pieces would satisfy the recommended daily intake. Functionality is at the core of our product design."

The second competitive advantage is taste. "I believe candy should be something people want to eat. The moment you emphasize health and sacrifice taste, customers won't buy it again. Ingredients with a strong bitter taste, such as vitamins and zinc, are particularly difficult to make delicious. However, through dozens of sampling and taste tests, we found the optimal balance between a subtle lemon aroma and a refreshing sweetness. One customer said, 'It was so delicious that I ate eight in one go. ' I smiled and suggested eating a few every day, but I could sense the customer’s love for and trust in the product. Gears’ Company is a brand that never compromises on 'health benefits' and 'delicious taste.' "

Gears Company used Wadiz crowdfunding to pioneer a market and test the initial response to its products. "At the time, we designed a viral structure that shared key messages primarily within online communities where women in their 30s and 40s were active, encouraging voluntary sharing. We quantified and verified the click-through rate, comment responses, and funding conversion rate for each post. We found that the conversion rate was significantly higher for certain message combinations and reflected this in our subsequent promotions."

Currently, the company is focusing on micro-targeted content experiments. The company is currently focusing on micro-targeted content experiments. Using A/B testing, the company analyzes content responses by channel, such as NAVER Blog, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, to determine which materials, tones, and lengths are well-received. For instance, by comparing the average viewing duration, save rate, and number of shares for the “story about product ingredients” and “review-based reaction content,” it is determining its marketing direction.

"In the future, rather than increasing the number of channels, we plan to expand our marketing efforts by refining short-form content and optimizing our social media performance based on data. For products like Morning Sickness Candy, which cater to specific times and concerns, community marketing and inflow structure design play a crucial role. Therefore, we are focusing on these areas."

Regarding future plans, Paik said, 'We were selected for the Youth Entrepreneurship Academy program this year and are now developing follow-up products for Shield Candy. We are developing a line of functional candies that address health concerns at different life stages, such as Morning Sickness Candy for pregnant women and Garlic Candy for middle-aged individuals. We aim to launch our first product in the first half of this year."

Founded: October 2023
Main business: sales of functional candy
Achievements: in September 2024, Shield Candy achieved 14.6 million won in Wadiz crowdfunding, with a funding success rate of 2,921%; Selected as a finalist for the 15th Youth Entrepreneurship Academy; Selected as a tenant company for Kyung Hee University Campus Town

reporter jinho lee
jinho2323@hankyung.com