Una Brands Enliven Rollup E-commerce Business in Indonesia

Una Brands, an e-commerce aggregator startup from Singapore, announced its presence in Indonesia after securing a $15 million Series A funding led by Alpha JWC Ventures. It is targeted that 12 to 15 local brands can be acquired next year.

Una is committed to allocating an investment of $35 million (more than IDR 500 billion) to support local brands in Indonesia to develop into international-class businesses through acquisition programs, providing working capital, operational support, to international business expansion.

They also plans to develop Indonesia as their strategic sourcing hub to expand the supply chain base for other Una Brands portfolios.

“We also help them to expand in Indonesia and globally, and make Indonesia a strategic sourcing hub for our other portfolios outside the sourcing hub currently located in China,” said Founder & CEO Una Brands Kiren Tanna in an official statement.

The company itself has a presence in nine markets with a focus on the Asia Pacific market, with headquarters in Singapore, then Malaysia, Australia, China, India, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan with more than 100 employees. Indonesia is the ninth country entered by the new company operating this year.

Has Acquired more than 20 Brands

Separately, Tanna said that the Una Brands team in Indonesia had actually been operating since October 2021 and had five employees. 

There is already one brand that has been finally acquired by the company, and nine other brands are in the final due diligence stage. “As for Una Brands globally, we have successfully acquired more than 20 brands since January 2021.”

With the announced investment commitment, Una Brands will acquire a potential local brand with a projected monthly turnover of at least IDR 400 million, selling through popular e-commerce channels.

According to him, no ticket size limit will be disbursed for one brand as long as the brand is included in the investment criteria at Una Brands.

“We are here to bring a new option where the acquisition by Una Brands does not only provide a full exit in cash and profit sharing for entrepreneurs, but also protects the legacy that has been created so far, even elevating that legacy to the next level through the Una Brands ecosystem.”

After the acquisition process, Una Brands through its technology will optimize brand performance, including branding, marketing, supply chain, to procurement. As well as, expanding distribution targets domestically and internationally within the scope of Asia Pacific, America, and Europe with a 10-fold growth target in sales and profit.

“The targeted business sectors are daily necessities, such as housing and housing needs, beauty and body care, baby, child and pet needs, sports, and outdoor activities. However, Una Brands also remains open to acquiring businesses outside these categories.”

Supported By E-Commerce Growth

Una Brands is not the first player to enter the “e-commerce rollup” segment in Indonesia, there are already Hypefast and OpenLabs. 

In comparison, in the global market, the concept adopted by the three refers to the template created by Thrasio, a similar player from the United States. Not only Indonesia, but this template has also been widely adopted by players in other countries. 

According to 10Club Co-Founder and CEO Bhavna Suresh, one of India’s e-commerce rollup players, the spread of this business concept is supported by the increasingly mature e-commerce ecosystem.

They act as new era brand aggregators, acquiring promising D2C companies to ensure operational excellence and rapid growth, thereby creating value for investors.

This format is very different from traditional venture capital firm operations. VCs invest in all types of startups (both online and offline) and provide strategic guidance, but the founders run them anyway.

Instead, e-commerce rollup companies acquire online leads, provide infrastructure assistance, and a team of experts to take the business to new heights.