October 5 Crowdfunding Report: NowHome Vacuum Cleaner Takes Top Spot
Home Appliances and AI Outpace Food in Crowdfunding Race
With 18 million won raised for a single product, a cordless vacuum cleaner has reached the top of the crowdfunding landscape. The 'Samsung Battery-Powered 550W Auto-Dust-Emptying Cordless Vacuum' by NowHome Co. drew approximately 18.75 million won in pledges, posting the best result among 80 total projects. Aggregated crowdfunding data shows 66 companies ran 80 projects, with the top tier divided three ways among home appliances, AI tools, and premium foods.
A clear pattern emerges down the rankings. IQBox's 'Playmobil X ESA Space Collaboration' toy raised about 15.59 million won, while OnGwa's 'King Peach' brought in about 15.7 million won. Notably, OnGwa achieved this sum with a single 500-gram peach, demonstrating the strength of the food category. They were followed by RunnerFit's nine-item running full package (about 8.97 million won) and Audiobooks' Venerable Beopjeong's 108 Dharma Talks audiobook (about 4.58 million won).
Three Market Tiers, Read by Funding Size
While the top tier of projects above 10 million won clusters around appliances, toys, and food, the middle range of 1 to 4 million won is far more diverse. The Deep Library's tarot and numerology books (about 2.98 million and 1.62 million won), Truebo's anti-theft sling bag (about 2.92 million won), and SsogOn's AI content production service (about 3.81 million won) show knowledge, practical, and service products evenly represented. The AI space alone features multiple companies, including Soonsaktool's short-form video maker and Algoricum's no-code service builder for non-developers — echoing Or Aechioni's line that "AI is a tool," the structure of toolmakers reaping the profits is being replicated in the funding market.
By contrast, the sub-1-million-won bottom tier is dominated by small household goods. Ultra-light compression pouches (mid-300,000-won range), mini cooling fans (mid-100,000-won range), and glossy towels (60,000-won range) are inherently limited in individual funding size. That said, a strategy like SMS Co.'s — running multiple seasonal products such as chargers, pouches, and fans simultaneously — reads as a volume-based defense despite small per-project amounts. People Korea's explicit labeling of its 25th and 22nd encore campaigns shows that repeated launches of proven products are also a distinct survival skill in this market.
Differentiation Through Seasonal Products and Sensory Copy
Project descriptions are dominated by copy that directly appeals to backers' senses. Typical examples include cooling underwear promising "-5°C the moment you put it on," a wrist-mounted smartphone holder that "snaps on in one second," and "a new apple variety available for just one month." LOOK AT ME leveraged this sensory marketing to raise 450,000–500,000 won across all three of its products, landing safely in the mid-tier.
The food category, too, has moved beyond simple produce sales. Fruit Master's 'Purple Lady' Kyoho grapes (about 1.33 million won) and 'Apple Summer King' (about 930,000 won) leaned on varietal rarity, while Yoohyeonggon's charcuterie (870,000 won) took the counterintuitive route of slow over speed. Season-driven offerings also stand out, such as Greenpic's peach and plum pies (410,000 won) and compote (140,000-won range). Ultimately, food raises funding size through story and scarcity rather than taste alone.
Outlook: A Two-Horse Race Between Large Appliances and AI Tools
The core takeaway from this data is clear. Backers' wallets are open to large appliances built on proven brand components, and to AI tools that directly boost their own productivity. Small products touting value-for-money in the 100,000-won range may win on project count, but their lag in total funding looks set to continue for now.
Yet as Frank Herbert noted, truth tends to blur under excessive analysis. The essence behind the 80 projects is simple: backers spend money on products that reliably solve their problems. NowHome's vacuum did that, and so did OnGwa's King Peach. Two trends — the repeated launching of seasonal small products and the clustering of AI tools — look unlikely to bend easily even as the quarter turns.
