742During last year's Black Friday, the queen of rap in Europe and America,Nicki Minaj, also known as "Mala Ji" to Chinese netizens, launched a special livestream on TikTok—selling press-on nails.
This livestream, promoting her self-created brandPink Friday Nails, attracted a total of3.6 million viewers, set the record for thefastest TikTok live to surpass ten million likes, and gained over50,000 new followers in a single session.
In the livestream, she tried on nail pieces while interacting with fans, ultimately driving single product sales to exceed20,000 orders, directly causing searches for "press-on nails" to soar by300%.
Image source: TikTok
This livestream perfectly echoed the netizens' joke:The end of the universe is livestream selling!
So, what is the story behind the Pink Friday Nails brand that has driven European and American consumers crazy for it?
Let’s take a look together!
Image source: Pink Friday Nails
The "Nail Anxiety" of a Top-Tier Mom
Back in2020, Nicki Minaj had just become a mother and was overwhelmed by parenting life.
One day, looking at her plain nails, she suddenly realized she hadn’t set foot in a nail salon for three whole months. For a celebrity famous for her exquisite nail designs, this was unbearable.
Founder Nicki Minaj and her son. Image source: Internet
So she tried every press-on nail on the market, but became even more frustrated. The $5 plastic nails sold in stores would come off within two hours; the handcrafted styles by nail artists were exquisite but averaged over $50 and required booking two weeks in advance.
This "either settle or pay more" situation completely ignited her entrepreneurial spirit.
Nicki teamed up with her longtime nail artistYvett Garcia, and during breaks from parenting, finalized a plan to create press-on nails with salon quality that could be changed anytime, with the key being the price controlled at around$20.
Nail artist Yvett Garcia Image source: Internet
After four years of repeated adjustments, inMarch 2024, the Pink Friday Nails brand officially launched with 11 series.
The product line covers four nail shapes: stiletto, square, almond, and coffin, with everything from short styles for working women to XXL styles for party enthusiasts.
The basic solid color series uses a thickened curved nail bed, improving fit by 30% over regular products; the "Queen Series" with 400 rhinestones is priced at $29.99, 60% cheaper than similar custom styles.
Image source: Pink Friday Nails
That same Black Friday, Nicki Minaj’s TikTok livestream further boosted the brand, with 3.6 million viewers in a single session, making the"on my tippies" series the highest-selling nail product in platform history.
"on my tippies" series Image source: Pink Friday Nails
Conquering Overseas Markets with Three Platforms
Analyzing how Pink Friday Nails rose to fame in just half a year, it’s also thanks to its refined operations on the three major overseas social media platforms: TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
Each platform has a clear strategy:TikTok for viral hits, Instagram for brand building, Facebook for practical content.
On TikTok, Pink Friday Nails focuses on the combination of"celebrity effect + ordinary user experience".
Image source: TikTok
So far, the brand’s official TikTok account@pinkfridaynailshas accumulated49,000 followers, with total video likes exceeding816,000.
The most popular video is a clip from Nicki Minaj’s Black Friday livestream, with2.8 million views and over353,100 likes.
Image source: TikTok
From the data, the traffic effect of the celebrity’s personal IP is very obvious.
Any video with "Nicki Minaj" in the title or cover can basically break a million views.
For example, influencer@Shirley (10,400 followers) posted an unboxing video titled "Nicki Minaj Nails," which reached1.4 million views and over129,700 likes.
This shows that a celebrity’s name is a golden signboard that can quickly attract user clicks.
Image source: TikTok
Besides leveraging celebrity traffic, Pink Friday Nails also collaborates with manymicro-influencers, such as@YanciArmani with only3,300 followers. She posted a video showing the entire process from unpacking to adjusting the nail pieces, which reached1.4 million views and over83,300 likes.
This type of content has no complex editing, but by showing the details of ordinary people using the product, it’s easier to resonate with viewers.
Image source: TikTok
Switching to Instagram, Pink Friday Nails’ style immediately becomes more refined.
On their account with167,000 followers, new product photos look like fashion shoots, with models posing with rhinestone nails or pairing them with metallic accessories for close-ups.
Image source: Instagram
These posts don’t directly sell products, but convey the concept that"nail art is part of fashion". For female users who value quality of life, this visual impact is sometimes more effective than discount ads.
Image source: Instagram
On Facebook, Pink Friday Nails’ official account currently has4,354 followers, with content mainly focused on product details and wearing effects.
Image source: Facebook
Compared to TikTok and Instagram, Facebook’s user base cares more aboutproduct functionality and user experience.
By focusing on detailed displays, Pink Friday Nails successfully attracted consumers with high demands for the practicality of press-on nails.
Image source: Facebook
Independent Website: Precise Dual-Engine Traffic
In addition, Pink Friday Nails has also built its own independent brand website.
The homepage of the independent site doesn’t bombard users with product ads, but instead features close-ups of nail pieces, showcasing product details.
Image source: Pink Friday Nails
On the product page, each item has real hand-wearing photos and star ratings (1-5 stars), allowing users to directly see the product effect and providing wearing references.
Image source: Pink Friday Nails
According to data,46.15% of Pink Friday Nails’ independent site traffic comes from organic search, with users mainly entering the official site by actively searching for"Nicki Minaj Nails""false nails""stick-on nails" and other keywords.
This shows that their SEO strategy is very effective, attracting a large number of target users through precise binding of the celebrity IP (Nicki Minaj) and core category keywords.
Social media accounts for29.38% of traffic, ranking as the second largest source, clearly bringing many new users to the independent site through content marketing and influencer recommendations.
Image source: similarweb
Precise Positioning at the Industry’s Hotspot
Besides precise strategic planning, the explosive growth of Pink Friday Nails is also inseparable from a favorable environment.
According to Grandviewresearch, in 2023, the global press-on nails market size was estimated at$696.6 million, and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of6.5% from 2024 to 2030.
Behind this growth is the upgrade in consumer demand for"efficient beauty"—saving time while staying exquisite.
Image source: grandviewresearch
Small Categories Can Also Unlock Big Markets!
The case of Pink Friday Nails reveals a trend:
Overseas consumers are paying for "time-saving" and "self-pleasing" needs.
While domestic supply chains are still competing on price, the global market is more eager to see innovative products that truly solve pain points.
Platforms like TikTok are channels where brands can directly communicate with overseas users, and independent sites have lowered the threshold for going global.
Based on this, brands that haven’t gone global yet can take action now.
Instead of struggling in domestic price wars, seize the wave of global traffic dividends, start from small pain points in users’ daily lives, and use product details and social media content to tell new stories in overseas markets!
