Indonesian beauty ecommerce site Sociolla grabs series A funding led by Venturra Capital

Indonesia-based cosmetics and beauty ecommerce site Sociolla announced late last week it secured a seven-figure series A investment led by Venturra Capital. The exact amount is undisclosed. East Ventures participated in the round, as did Steve Christian of Indonesia’s KapanLagi Network. According to Sociolla’s co-founders Christopher Madiam, John Rasjid, and Chrisanti Indiana, the cash will be used to boost the firm’s overall tech infrastructure, introduce new features, and grow the team in Jakarta.

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Until recently, Rasjid was the associate director at UBS Investment Bank. Indiana was a professional designer at a Sydney-based branding agency, while Madiam was the supply chain manager at a large FMCG company also in Sydney. “The three of us come from different backgrounds, but we are fascinated by and firm believers in ecommerce,” says Rasjid. “Beauty seems to be the niche vertical we can focus on.”

Willson Cuaca, managing partner of East Ventures, says the investment is a good bet. Sociolla competes directly with names like Luxola, a Singapore-based beauty ecommerce firm that covers most of Southeast Asia and was acquired by LVMH back in July. Sociolla also competes with Sephora, a somewhat similar company also under LVMH. “We see the team is great, and there is no clear winner yet in this category in Indonesia,” says Cuaca. “All the incumbent players in Indonesia are slow, and the opportunity is just sitting there,

Sociolla currently has 140 brands on offer. Visitors can shop by brand or by department, under the categories of makeup, skincare, haircare, nails, bath and body, accessories, fragrances, and gifts. “From [the] customer’s point of view, there wasn’t a single trusted and credible beauty ecommerce site on par with those abroad,” Rasjid tells Tech in Asia. “Beauty and personal care is different than other categories in many aspects, and we believe it deserves a dedicated [local] ecommerce [site] to cater to the category.”

“I see Sociolla as a beauty shop, simple as that. It’s run by a nerd businessman, a beauty addict, and a banker; a recipe for success,” says Christian, who invested out of his own pocket. “Growth since the firm’s inception is remarkable. It’s a good business.”

In terms of traffic, Luxola Indonesia is still winning, with around 50,000 visitors last month. Sociolla, on the other hand, got about half that amount. However, with more cash at its disposal, the startup could turn the tables on Luxola Indonesia in the near future.

Where Sociolla seems to have the upper hand already is social media. The firm has 19,700 Instagram followers, compared to Luxola Indonesia’s 16,300 followers. When it comes to beauty products, it’s fair to say that the photo-based social network is indeed a significant industry driver.

“Compared to our direct competitors, we do many things differently,” says Rasjid. “We focus on building mutual relationships, [a] much wider product selection, and we put more focus toward offline engagements.”

He adds that most of Sociolla’s brands are already sizeable and well-established. More than 20 of the 140 brands are only available online in Indonesia via Sociolla, he says, including France-based L’Occitane. Sociolla also claims to act as the direct intermediary between customers and the brands should there be feedback or a problem with the order.

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