Southeast Asia’s e-commerce value is forecast to grow to $53 billion by 2023, which means the region’s online consumer base is already prime and ready.
In the Philippines, e-commerce market sales reached $17 billion in 2021, largely contributed by 73 million online active users, according to data from the International Trade Administration.
Competition, however, is stiff and cornering a huge chunk of the local market depends on how fast the online merchant can deliver the products and, most importantly, how affordable and authentic the items are.
Now brands are transacting directly with consumers, cutting out the middleman, to improve user engagement and ultimately boost sales. And investors are starting to see the potential of this direct-to-consumer (DTC) model.
Niv Della, a Philippine homegrown cosmetics company that owns Colourette and Fresh Formula brands, announced that it has secured an undisclosed amount in its seed funding round anchored by Foxmont Capital Partners, an independent venture capital investor.
The startup’s Colourette and Fresh Formula are among the many DTC players that have reported significant growth as consumers’ attention shifted online. Around the region, DTC brands in the beauty and skincare categories have seen increased attention from investors both regionally and globally.
“We see high potential in the Philippine DTC beauty segment, and believe Niv Della’s Colourette and Fresh Formula are strong brands that will continue to see impressive growth,” said Franco Varona, managing partner at Foxmont Capital Partners.
Standing at the center of the growing community is Colourette founder and CEO, Nina Dizon-Cabrera, an entrepreneur turned content creator who is an advocate for inclusivity and women empowerment.
Cabrera said confidence for grassroots beauty and cosmetics brands is growing rapidly alongside the rising demand for high-quality yet affordable beauty products.
She added that the Philippines’ beauty and cosmetics industry and young and tech-savvy population create a vast opportunity for homegrown beauty brands like Colourette to reach new heights and gain market share.
The anchor investor, Foxmont Capital Partners, is an early-stage venture firm that invests in Filipino-focused or Filipino-founded early-stage technology startups.
Foxmont made headlines when it participated in the $15-million Series B funding round of Philippine-based live-streaming app Kumu and led the $1.5-million seed funding round in local cloud kitchen startup Kraver’s Canteen.
Its other portfolio companies include edtech startup Edukasyon.ph, Podcast Network Asia, e-commerce firm etaily, and supply chain services provider Expedock.