Nepali brands turn to TikTok

The marvels of the digital era have brought about countless inventions for human civilization—among which is TikTok, an application to upload short videos.

TikTok currently has 1 billion active users on the platform, a significant portion of which joined during the pandemic. According to Craig Chapple’s (Mobile Insights Strategist, EMEA) 2020 article on sensor towers, an increase from 199.4 Million to 314 Million was seen in the first quarter of 2020—right when a majority of the population was on lockdown.

As millions of people flocked to TikTok to kill time, brands took notice and strategically started marketing on the platform. Since about half of the demographic on TikTok is between 18 to 24 in age, brand content usually targets generation Z’s humour.

Samman Shakya, an avid TikTok user says, “I would say brand marketing definitely piques my interest, but I look into it more to make sure what I’m buying is worth it.” Another anonymous user says, “Certain advertising that attempts to be hip usually falls flat because they’re most probably being made by people that are out of touch.”

Some notable international brands that have gained traction from their TikTok videos are Duolingo, GymShark, Red Bull, Ryan Air, and Netflix. They usually use trending sounds to make a video, with their own comic spin to it. Recently, Nepali brands have also started popping up on the “For You Page” crafted by the TikTok algorithm. Some Nepali company accounts to be on the lookout for while scrolling through your TikTok are:

1. Daraz Nepal (@daraz_nepal)

Daraz is an international e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba with a marketplace in Nepal. Daraz Nepal emerged when Nepal was fairly new to the e-commerce world, quickly gaining popularity for its usability. Hopping on the TikTok bandwagon, Daraz Nepal joined the platform in April 2021 and currently has 10,000 followers and 180,000 likes. In their TikTok videos, they usually feature influencers using their products in hopes of getting more engagement from their fan base. Other videos from them include one promotion 11:11, the biggest daraz sale with funny videos in trending sounds.

2. Pathao Nepal (@pathaonepal)

Originally founded in Bangladesh in 2015, Pathao has become one of the most popular ride-hailing applications in Kathmandu. Since its inception in 2018, it quickly rose to fame for its fast services. Pathao Nepal first made its debut on TikTok in March, and unlike Daraz's funny videos, they have videos featuring riders and their stories under the “Heroes of Pathao” playlist. These short snippets of videos have brought them 17,600 followers and about 250,000 likes.

3. Jeveehealth (@jeeveeapp)

Jeveehealth is an online health and beauty platform to order products. They made their TikTok debut on March of 2020 and have since made informational videos on how to make their products

1. Healthy Minds Nepal (healthymindsnepal)

Unlike other brands on TikTok, Healthy Minds Nepal is a health care/counseling center that posts short health care tips on the platform. Rather than directly promoting their services on the platform, they give their viewers a sneak peek into what their sessions will be like. With countless videos on mental health awareness and how to deal with them, healthymindsnepal has managed to get 13,700 followers and 137,100 likes on the application. "Being on TikTok has given us more exposure than I could imagine, a lot of people contact us through the platform. But I make most of the videos for education, rather than getting customers," says psychologist Rojisha Shahi, the face of Healthyminds.