Gravity Shampoo Launches Free Trial Sampling Promotion in Six U.S. Regions

- "GRABITY ROUTE AMERICA 2026" embarks on a long journey from San Francisco to New York starting on the 6th
- Korean-style sampling tour to meet around 20,000 local customers

On the 6th, holding an event at Jagalchi Market in San Francisco.

Gravity Shampoo, which has entered the U.S. market, plans to accelerate its so-called "on-foot marketing" to expand its offline distribution network across the United States by traveling through six key regions and carrying out a "Korean-style free trial sampling promotion" at major retail sites.

Polyphenol Factory (headed by Professor Lee Haeshin of KAIST) announced on the 9th that Gravity, a functional hair care brand developed by KAIST scientists, has launched its "GRABITY ROUTE AMERICA 2026" tour, a Korean-style free sampling promotion event at offline stores in six key regions. The tour crosses an approximately 5,000 km route from San Francisco on the West Coast to New York on the East Coast.

Gravity Shampoo drew strong interest from local Korean residents and American customers in January this year when it took part in CES. In a space of just about 3.3 square meters, more than 10,000 people visited the booth, creating such "unusual fervor" that it temporarily sold out on Amazon.

Polyphenol Factory decided that in the U.S. market it is crucial to create product trial opportunities for as many people as possible, and therefore chose to meet American consumers face-to-face at offline retail sites in major cities.

Gravity Shampoo

This tour will run for about one month, crossing more than 5,000 km from the western to the eastern United States. Its name, "GRABITY ROUTE AMERICA 2026," was inspired by Route 66, the iconic highway that runs across the country from west to east.

From February 6 to 8, events are being held starting in San Francisco, California; from February 13 to 15, the team will visit Texas and Georgia; and from February 20 to 22, events will be held in Virginia and Washington, D.C. The tour will conclude in Manhattan, New York, from February 27 to March 1.

The team will visit major offline retail stores in person to offer product trials and sampling, as part of a strategic initiative to fully launch its push into the U.S. offline market. Gravity expects to meet around 20,000 local customers directly during this sampling period. In particular, it is targeting consumers in their 30s to 50s who are beginning to notice their hair becoming thinner and weaker, and plans to rapidly raise brand awareness through miniature product giveaways and on-site experiences.

Meanwhile, this cross-country U.S. promotion is being viewed as an important turning point in Gravity's entry into the North American market. Gravity is currently available in 23 offline stores in the United States, and through this tour it aims to assess consumer reactions and purchase conversion potential in actual shelf environments, while also building data on local distribution structures. In addition, by comprehensively checking shelf operations, types of customer inquiries, and repurchase potential, the company plans to use the collected data to accelerate the expansion of its North American offline channels in the second half of the year and beyond.

Professor Lee Haeshin of the KAIST Department of Chemistry, who developed Gravity, said, "If CES was where our technology was validated, and Amazon was where we confirmed market response, then this 5,000 km cross-country tour marks the stage where Gravity is truly entering the U.S. offline market," adding, "We expect to directly confirm that KAIST technology, which takes a scientific approach to hair aging, is fully competitive in global markets as well."

Gravity Shampoo has also established itself in Korea as a functional shampoo, with cumulative sales surpassing approximately 3 million bottles. It is expanding its position as a technology-based hair care brand, having ranked No. 1 across all channels on the very day it launched at Olive Young.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.