Customers visiting KIKO Milano’s inaugural store in 1997 were greeted by a short, powerful statement printed across the shop’s main doors: Be What You Want. The phrase has since become the company’s motto, encapsulating the spirit of empowerment and inclusion that has helped KIKO grow into an established global beauty brand.
KIKO Milano was born in Bergamo, around 50km northeast of Milan. A family business, KIKO’s ambitious goal was clear from the start: to deliver high-quality, innovative beauty products at an accessible price.
“We encourage empowerment through self-expression,” begins KIKO Milano CEO Simone Dominici. “First, we inspire self-exploration through our wide range of products. Then, when consumers have embraced their unique characteristics, including their vulnerability, we give them all they need to express their individual beauty – from beauty advice to special collections.”
Committed to delivering the ‘Italian Art of Beauty’, KIKO designs all its products in Milan. The company’s current range features more than 1,200 products in a wide variety of shades. These go on to be sold across a vast retail network of almost 1,300 stores in 72 countries.
“Over the last four years, we’ve almost doubled the size of our business,” Simone reveals. “We have a significant global footprint, plus a presence on all major digital marketplaces. There is a lot of demand for high-quality, innovative, and affordable products, which has given us the opportunity to accelerate our expansion.”
Trend-Forward Innovation
At the heart of KIKO’s success has been the company’s customer centricity, with a particular focus on trend-forward innovation. Lately, these trends have included a call for hybrid products that combine make-up and skin care characteristics, as well as a rise in demand for beauty technology that simplifies consumers’ lives.
“Trends are continually evolving,” Simone explains. “Our biggest challenge is to adapt quickly to changing consumer expectations, especially in the digital space, where consumers are moving from followers to creators – they are becoming part of the brand narrative, rather than just being exposed to it.”
Undaunted by progress, in recent years KIKO has transitioned from a make-up retailer into a full global beauty brand. As it has moved beyond make-up, the company has introduced a wide variety of complementary product ranges, such as hair care designed by Rossano Ferretti and a Milan-inspired range of fragrances. However, expansion into new products does not mean KIKO has abandoned its popular core cosmetics offering.
“Like any brand, we focus on our icons,” Simone states. “This includes 3D Hydra Lip Gloss, Unlimited Double Touch lipstick, Hydro Pro Glow moisturiser, and Maxi Mod Mascara.
“Within each make-up subsection, we offer a huge breadth of choices to suit all customer preferences. For instance, our Full Coverage 2-in-1 Foundation and Concealer will soon come in 49 shades.”
Authentically Italian
Whether its shampoo or serum, mascara or moisturiser, KIKO products all boast one guaranteed, unifying quality – they are authentically Italian. For customers, this translates as an assurance of quality, creativity, and style.
“The Italian accent of our products is an important part of our mission to build confidence,” Simone remarks. “The way KIKO inspires confidence is different to other brands because we work from the inside out, rather than modelling beauty from outside in.
“In short, it’s not about how others perceive you. Instead, our products and services advocate exploring individuality, discovering your beauty traits, and expressing your unique characteristics. This is the nature of effortless Italian style, from the Land of Authentic Beauty, where everyone is exposed to beauty from the moment they are born.”
KIKO’s refreshing take on beauty and self-expression has struck a chord with consumers all over the world. It has allowed the company to grow not only in historic and traditional beauty markets, but also in less familiar territory, such as Africa, Latin America, and China.
“If you look at the regions we expanded into in 2024, you are talking about close to 1 billion new consumers,” Simone notes. “Further to this, in June 2025, we will launch a presence in India and Central Africa, so you can imagine how many more customers we are going to attract.”
Of course, the excitement of global expansion brings with it challenges posed by new markets and cultural differences. In keeping with the inclusive nature of the business, KIKO has worked to develop and design products that are relevant and meaningful to each new location.
“Our brand remains strong wherever we operate, but we are designing specific products that align with each culture, such as special formulas for those celebrating Ramadan in the Middle East, or new skin tone products for Chinese consumers. To support this work, we are building and empowering teams of local people who best understand their geographic market.”
More Than a Brand
As KIKO continues to grow, the company is looking to modernise further, creating a more complete and unified commerce ecosystem between its digital and physical stores. This is likely to include a rollout of in-store commerce platforms integrating customer data, inventory, and transaction capabilities. It’s another positive development for KIKO, a brand in high demand.
“During our transformation from pure retailer to full beauty brand, other retailers stopped being competitors and became customers. As a result, we are receiving requests from many retailers across a huge range of geographical areas,” Simone comments. “We have really cornered the entry prestige segment, providing affordable quality, with personalised service, for customers in top retailers like El Corte Inglés, Stockmann, and Galeries Lafayette.”
Each year, KIKO releases more than 500 new products. The result is an ever-evolving range, allowing consumers to find new ways to discover and explore their individuality.
In the years to come, KIKO is set to expand across all facets of the organisation – physically, digitally, culturally, and through its products. This bold plan is not just commercially driven, but fuelled by something bigger; KIKO, ultimately, is more than a brand – it is a movement.
“KIKO goes beyond beauty,” Simone declares. “We also stand for creativity, inclusivity, empowerment, and self-expression. We want to have a positive impact on our customers at all stages of their lives.
“For too long, the beauty industry was built around the concept of perfection,” he adds. “We have changed the conversation, helping people embrace expression and experimentation instead.
“At KIKO, we were inclusive before inclusivity was popular. Today, Be What You Want remains our motto because celebrating your unique identity is so much more important than copying others. Each of us is perfect as we are.”
