Funding crunch fails to slow Indonesia’s expanding D2C space

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IN FOCUS

In today’s newsletter, we look at:

• The direct-to-consumer landscape in Indonesia amid funding drought
• Shopee starting 2024 with strong results amid TikTok Shop’s threat

Hi there,

Many new F&B brands are appearing on online food delivery platforms in Indonesia. These D2C players aim to ride on the momentum of people ordering food online, a trend that increased dramatically during the pandemic.

Most F&B players are not backed by VCs. But in recent years, some F&B startups, especially coffee chains, have attracted the latter’s attention. Jago Coffee, Kopi Kenangan, Flash Coffee, and Fore Coffee are some examples.

The D2C trend has also reached other consumer sectors, such as beauty, personal care, fashion, health, fast-moving consumer goods, furniture, and even electric vehicles. All are using online platforms to sell their products directly to consumers.

Funding into the D2C space in Indonesia is drying up compared to a few years ago, though. Yet, new names continue to emerge.

In this week’s Big Story, my colleague Budi maps out Indonesia’s D2C space, complete with a list of players in each category, funding details, and the latest trends in the industry. The story also highlights Indonesian brands expanding regionally and also some regional brands coming into the country.

Meanwhile, in the Hot Take, I analyze Shopee’s strong results for the first quarter of 2024, demonstrating its continued success despite the rise of TikTok Shop in Southeast Asia.

— Jofie

THE BIG STORY

Mapping Indonesia’s leading D2C brands

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Between 2020 and 2024 so far, direct-to-consumer players in the F&B sector attracted the most funding, followed by those in FMCG.

THE HOT TAKE

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