CHICAGO – IRI and KISS Products Inc. are continuing their long-standing partnership focused on adapting to and capitalizing on rapidly evolving consumer beauty trends using the IRI Market Advantage and IRI Consumer and Shopper Insights Advantage on the Unify visualization platform.

The beauty industry experienced significant demand disruption as consumers shifted their behaviors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. KISS, with its unwavering commitment to its cutting-edge innovation and strong retailer partnerships, leveraged the speed and nimbleness of Unify, as well as the active guidance of the IRI Mid-Market Growth team, to keep an eye on consumer trends and identify opportunities for innovation and growth. KISS’s success led to its being named a 2020 CPG Growth Leader among small companies in IRI’s and Boston Consulting Group’s latest CPG industry study. This reflects the fifth time in six years that KISS has been recognized for its growth leadership in the sector.

“The pandemic fundamentally changed consumers’ approaches to beautification, and our partnership with IRI has been a significant contributor to our growth and success through this extremely dynamic period,” commented Paul Yang, chief strategy officer, KISS Products. “IRI’s platform enables us to track our customers’ preferences and purchase habits in real time, and with the added, hands-on support of IRI’s advisory team, KISS turned a volatile period into a catalyst for continued, industry-leading growth. We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with IRI to help us better understand our consumers, execute effective strategies and make quicker and better decisions.”

“We were happy to play a role in helping KISS succeed during an unprecedented year,” said Robert Porod, executive vice president of Mid-Market national for IRI. “Our Unify platform and industry-leading datasets, which are strengthened by our extensive partner ecosystem, help clients quickly identify and capitalize on emerging market trends, and meet the scalability needs of small and midsize companies. Our ability to couple technology with hands-on advisory from our team makes IRI a unique strategic partner to CPG companies looking to drive growth, regardless of size.”

Unify, IRI’s visualization platform, improves ROI for CPG manufacturers and retailers of all sizes by providing speed to insights and integrating multiple, disparate data sources. It offers a single access point to all IRI Liquid Data solutions, including Market Advantage and Consumer and Shopper Insights Advantage, which aggregates and visualizes point-of-sale and consumer panel data to provide a holistic view of consumer trends and purchase behavior in real time.