It’s only been two weeks since Highfy launched its app, and 22k people have already downloaded it, while more than half have even placed their first order.
“For five years, our customers have been telling us how they shop,” said Hanzala Raja, founder of Highfy.” We’d read the same messages over and over. ‘Where’s my order?’ ‘Why do I have to log in again?’ So when people downloaded it this quickly, it didn’t feel like a surprise. It felt like they’d been waiting.”
As Pakistan’s biggest beauty destination, launching an app just when Highfy has doubled its growth in 2026 alone is no less than a power move. The app is build around what existing customers asked for, and it’s set up so new shoppers get the same experience from their very first order.
What has Highfy been doing?
Highfy was founded in 2021 as an online cosmetics store in Pakistan, part of Overseas Business Corporation (OBC), a consumer brand importer and distributor operating since 1999. It now stocks more than 500 authorised brands and over 10,000 products across skincare, makeup, haircare, fragrance, nails and tools, with partners including Unilever and L’Oréal.
Highfy has now grown its customer base to 700k active users, 92% of which already shop on the phone. The app gives them a better way to shop the best beauty products in Pakistan than browser-based shopping, and so far, customers seem happy to take it.
70,000 loyal customers got the early access
Before anyone else, Highfy handed the app to 70,000 of its existing customers and asked them to be honest. They were. More than 20% downloaded it during early access via email, requesting them to download the app and place the orders on the app. Within an hour, feedback responses started coming in.
“You can test an app internally a million times and still miss things, because everyone on your team already knows how it’s supposed to work,” said Hanzala. “Seventy thousand customers don’t. The ones who downloaded early found things in a week that we might have taken months to notice.”
Highfy has been listening to what the early-access customers have been telling them, and their app team was able to implement those changes before the app for rolled out to everyone else. That alone was significant in helping them improve features based on what their real customer felt during the first order on the app.
It’s all for the customers
About 70% of downloads so far are from existing customers. For them, the app fixes what they asked about most:
- Checkout that remembers you. Saved addresses and payment details mean a reorder takes less time.
- Tracking you can check yourself. “Where is my order?” used to make up almost 50% of support messages. Now the answer is in the app.
Then there are people who haven’t ordered from Highfy yet. Anyone who has shopped at online cosmetic stores in Pakistan knows the first order from a new site feels like a small gamble. The app makes that first order an easy one:
- Free shipping on all app orders for a limited time. Use code APP-FREESHIP.
- An iPhone 18 Pro Max giveaway, which every app user is automatically entered into. The winner will be announced soon.
“If you’ve shopped with us before, this app is our thank-you,” said Hanzala. “If you haven’t, it’s the easiest place to start.”
How the word spread
Early access got people talking online, and social media teasers kept the conversation going. The biggest pull came from Highfy’s launch event in Karachi, where the app was the entry ticket to the pop-up. A huge crowd showed up, downloaded the app on the spot, and plenty walked away with free skincare and makeup goodies by winning these games.
Highfy’s out-of-home campaign has since taken the conversation from people’s feeds onto the streets too.
What’s next
Highfy is planning to consistently work on future updates, add new features based on what the customer continues to tell them, and create app-only incentives so people can enjoy shopping on the app even further with new deals, discounts and the best cosmetics prices in Pakistan!
“Five years of customers telling us how they shop got us here,” said Hanzala. “The app just means we can keep listening, and move a lot faster when they tell us how to do their beauty shopping better.”
Download the Highfy app on the App Store or Google Play.
