Kuaishou Finds Formula for Growth in Brazil, International Chief Says
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Kuaishou Technology Co. Ltd. is striving to build a stronger foothold in the Brazilian market by customizing its strategy to local tastes and infrastructure, a move that largely helped the short-video firm’s international business turn a profit for the first time in the first quarter.
Kwai, the international version of its eponymous Kuaishou app, has been operating in the Latin American country for eight years. Citing third-party data, the company said that the app now has 60 million monthly active users in Brazil, equivalent to nearly one-third of its population, with each user spending an average of more than 75 minutes on the platform every day.
“When I first came to Brazil at the end of 2022, we didn’t even have our own office, and we worked out of a WeWork office space,” Du Zheng, head of international commercialization at Kuaishou, told Caixin at the firm’s office in Vila Olímpia, São Paulo.
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- Kuaishou’s Kwai app has 60 million monthly active users in Brazil, with each user averaging over 75 minutes daily.
- Kwai localized content, partnered with local celebrities, and adapted features to Brazilian market needs, helping turn Kuaishou’s international business profitable in Q1.
- Kwai launched e-commerce in Brazil, now rivaling TikTok Shop, though faces high logistics costs and supply chain challenges.
- Kuaishou Technology Co. Ltd.
- Kuaishou Technology Co. Ltd. is a Chinese short-video firm. Its international version, Kwai, has achieved profitability, largely due to its customized strategy in the Brazilian market. Kwai boasts 60 million monthly active users in Brazil, where it focuses on localized content, infrastructure adaptations like video caching, and has recently launched e-commerce through Kwai Shop.
- WeWork
- Kuaishou, the Chinese short-video firm, initially operated out of a WeWork office space in Brazil at the end of 2022. This was before they established their own dedicated office in Vila Olímpia, São Paulo, as mentioned by Du Zheng, head of international commercialization at Kuaishou.
- TikTok
- The provided article discusses Kuaishou's expansion in Brazil and does not contain information about ByteDance or TikTok. Therefore, I cannot provide details about them based on this content.
- Momentum Works
- Momentum Works is a venture capital firm that estimated TikTok Shop's monthly gross merchandise volume in Brazil. They reported that TikTok Shop's monthly gross merchandise volume in Brazil surged to $46.1 million in August from $1 million.
- 2020：
- Kuaishou made a short-lived, cash incentive-driven attempt to enter the U.S. market with the Zynn app.
- End of 2022：
- Du Zheng first arrived in Brazil; Kuaishou did not have its own office and operated from a WeWork office space.
- Last year (2024)：
- Kwai Shop was officially launched in Brazil.
- First quarter of 2025：
- Kuaishou's international business turned a profit for the first time.
- May 2025：
- TikTok launched TikTok Shop in Brazil.
- August 2025：
- TikTok Shop’s monthly gross merchandise volume in Brazil surged to $46.1 million from $1 million.
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