Healthy growth for Malaysian ecommerce firm as it completes series A fundraising

Malaysia-based ecommerce platform Signature Market netted close to US$1 million (RM4 million) in a series A funding round, with participation from Axiata Digital Innovation Fund and RHL Ventures.

Founded as Signature Snack in 2014, the startup wants to make healthier food products more accessible and affordable in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.

Photo credit: Signature Market

The company, which makes its own products, specializes in delivering natural and organic snacks directly to consumers. Customers can purchase these healthy eats at an “affordable price point” as Signature Market bypasses conventional distribution channels.

Global demand for consumer packaged goods in this segment has been on the rise over the past few years, reports market research firm Nielsen.

“Consumers are adopting a healthier lifestyle, and the natural and organic food demand has been growing at a steady rate in Southeast Asia,” adds Edwin Wang, co-founder of Signature Market.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Signature Market plans to use its newly acquired capital to expand its product offerings and facilities as well as scale its business “to make quality affordable snacks available to every Malaysian.”

To date, Signature Market has a customer base of 120,000 in Malaysia. It hopes to raise the number by almost three-fold to 300,000 by the end of the year.

It also hopes to continue its revenue momentum. Signature Market reached US$3.2 million in revenue last year – a feat considering it only banked US$240,000 in 2016.

“We are targeting to close US$9.7 million in gross revenue this year, and doubling that by 2020,” Wang reveals.

The company plans to complete a series B round by end-2019 to facilitate its growth beyond the Malaysian market. He says: “We are exploring other countries in Southeast Asia, such as Singapore and Thailand.”