Kembrel is launching a private sales store that can be accessed entirely through Facebook, from browsing to checkout.


Kembrel, is a private shopping community for college students that partners with lifestyle brands to offer 40-75% discounts off retail prices to their student members in limited-time sales that start at 9 pm EST and last for only 5 days. The company has lured more than 50 brands to try its site with the promise of helping them gain exposure and acquire lifetime customers through a targeted combination of social e-commerce and community building.


“By bringing our store to where our customers spend the most time online, our goal is to provide them with the most convenient and relevant shopping experience,” said Cherif Habib, Kembrel's CEO.

Kembrel’s summer beta period successfully attracted 20,000 registered student members. This initial growth was mostly organic through word of mouth, with little reliance on traditional marketing. Kembrel is currently drawing over 5,000 new members per week.


To date, well over 50 brands have signed up to reach students through the Kembrel platform. Brands are selected for their relevance to student customers and the products on offer include apparel, accessories, sporting goods, dorm essentials and gadgets. The assortment is tightly curated by young buyers who understand the student market. “We offer a direct marketing channel to a niche demographic untapped by other private sales sites, as well as a chance to build brand loyalty among an educated, trend-savvy and young demographic,” said Valerie Muvdi, Buyer at Kembrel and a recent college graduate herself.