Two Keys to the Success of Sociolla Bosses in the Beauty Business

Co-Founder and President of Social Bella (Sociolla) Christopher Madiam revealed the ‘key’ in developing the beauty business in Indonesia. The potential of the women’s economic market or sheconomy, including beauty, is estimated at US$ 59 billion or Rp. 847 trillion.

Currently, Sociolla has 35 omnichannel outlets in Indonesia and nine in Vietnam. This beauty startup also has 24 multifunctional warehouses in the country.

Chris said he built Sociolla with John Rasjid and Chrisanti Indiana in 2015. John served as CEO and Chrisanti CMO.

“It was a golden year for e-commerce. Lazada dominates the market. There are also Tokopedia, Bukalapak, Blibli, and so on. We see an opportunity,” said Chris in the Impacttalk podcast series program released by Impactto recently.

The three of them also built an e-commerce startup, but one that focuses on beauty. At that time, he saw that there were no start-up companies working on this sector specifically.

In fact, the Ministry of Industry places the cosmetic industry as a mainstay sector. This is stated in the National Industrial Development Master Plan (RIPIN) for 2015 – 2035.

Then domestic cosmetic companies increased by 153, bringing the total to more than 760 in 2017. 95% of them are small and medium industry (IKM) sectors.

At that time, medium and large scale companies exported their products to ASEAN, Africa, the Middle East, and others. The transaction value abroad is US$ 516.99 million. Then it rose to US$ 600 million in 2019. Beauty products are also the most in demand in e-commerce, as shown in the following Databkos.

Sociolla Allows Product Prices to Always Be the Same

Chris, John, and Santi learned that beauty e-commerce needs to convince consumers about the safety and authenticity of products. “In 2015, when people bought goods, it was not only a matter of trust in the product, but also the delivery,” he said. “This is a challenge. We believe that this is one area that needs trust more than any other e-commerce.”

According to him, trust is one of the keys to building a business in the beauty sector. He and his two colleagues also focused on developing technologies that could provide added value for customers.

Sociolla builds a system that allows product prices on online platforms and offline outlets to always be the same in Indonesia. The startup has also developed a feature that allows customers to get information about products just by scanning a barcode.

“As a founder, I don’t envision to build a tech that people don’t understand. So, how do we offer technology that can be useful and add value to consumers,” he said.

The Four Pillars of Sociolla Bisnis Business

With these two ‘keys’, Sociolla enlarges the ecosystem. This beauty startup has transformed into a complete ecosystem with the addition of four other business pillars.

The four are Super App beauty SoCo Beauty and lifestyle media by presenting end-to-end services O2O marketing Beauty Journal Brand Development with distributor services for beauty and personal care products from upstream to downstream Lilla, a complete ecosystem for mothers and children Sociolla also introduces a business model new one called SHEcosystem.

According to him, this will create opportunities for the company for multi-dimensional expansion. The startup company will aggressively expand its omnichannel outlets. Last year, this startup store grew 10 times compared to 2019.

The beauty startup has 24 multifunctional warehouses spread across Indonesia. It can serve more than 55 thousand point of sale for Brand Development business. Sociolla also plans to expand its network overseas, following last year’s expansion to Vietnam.

“With this step, Sociolla wants to reap the potential of the women’s economic market or sheconomy, including beauty, which is predicted to be US$ 59 billion or IDR 847 trillion. The sector’s compound annual growth (CAGR) is 9.4%,” Christopher said in a virtual press conference, in March (29/3).

In addition to expansion, the beauty startup plans to register an initial public offering (IPO). However, John did not explain when the IPO would be carried out. “IPO is always in our minds, one plan ahead. Moreover, now Sociolla is entering its seventh year of operation,” he said.