Edamama, the foremost online-to-offline (O2O) parenting platform in the Philippines, has concluded its latest Series A+ funding round, bringing total funding raised since the platform’s launch to over $35 million.
The funding was spearheaded by the Ayala Corporation Technology Innovation Venture (ACTIVE) Fund, the largest venture capital fund in the Philippines managed by Kickstart Ventures and supported by Ayala Corporation (AC) and its subsidiaries. Participating in the round were existing investors Kickstart Ventures, Gentree Fund, InnoVen Capital, and the addition of new investor GS Group, a South Korean retail giant.
Founded in 2020 by Bela Gupta D’Souza and Nishant D’Souza, edamama’s platform offers products related to motherhood, currently specializing in the sale of essential baby care products that center around fostering the healthy development of infants. Visitors to the edamama site can explore a range of items, including baby lotion, baby wash, diapers, rompers, strollers, baby blankets, and more.
The latest round of funding is expected to drive the company’s expansion strategy, intensifying its offline retail footprint across the Philippines. After the successful trial of pop-up stores in Robinsons Magnolia and Robinsons Manila malls, the company is set to achieve another milestone with the opening of a new store at Ayala Vertis North by the end of the year.
According to Nishant D’Souza, edamama is excited to continue working with the Ayala ecosystem. “We are excited to strengthen our collaboration with the Ayala ecosystem with this strategic investment from ACTIVE Fund, especially to unlock further synergies across the Ayala Malls network as we expand our physical stores nationwide next year,” he said. “We are immensely grateful for the continued trust from our repeat investors, and are honored to welcome our new partners, GS Group, with their first direct investment in the Philippines. This funding will accelerate our offline roll-out and private label product development, providing even more value and accessibility to our customers wherever they choose to be – online or offline.”
“We are truly inspired by the potential of the edamama platform to empower more Filipino parents and families. Building on our outstanding partnership with edamama through Kickstart’s initial investment in 2021, we are delighted to continue supporting them via Ayala Corporation’s ACTIVE Fund to help bring about a frictionless future where affordable, quality products are made easily available to more Filipino families. With this recent funding round, we are also thrilled to welcome Korea’s GS Group to the edamama cap table. Their experience and strategic insights make a significant and valuable addition to the growth of edamama,” added Minette Navarrete of the ACTIVE Fund.
Adding to the platform’s expansion plans, edamama also welcomed four seasoned e-commerce and retail professionals to its leadership team. Miguel Fernandez, with over two decades of experience at Coupang, Amazon, and Dell, joins as a Board Director, bringing CFO expertise from roles at Carsome and Maya. Rohan Aggarwal, formerly at Flipkart, is appointed Chief Commercial Officer, focusing on strengthening edamama’s online business. Rachit Gupta, with early-stage entrepreneurship experience, becomes Senior Commercial Director to drive sustainable revenue growth. Finally, Donna Manalastas, with a background in expanding LVMH’s Benefit Cosmetics, is the new Offline Retail Director, overseeing edamama’s physical retail expansion.
“We have made great strides in scaling our operations while improving unit economics over this past year. These appointments will further bolster our goal of delivering an industry-leading experience for parents in both the digital and physical retail worlds. With such world-class talent on board, we could not be more pumped for our future,” concluded Bela Gupta D’Souza.