The key players in Indonesia’s D2C space

Image credit: Timmy Loen

As the Covid-19 pandemic shifts Indonesian consumer behavior, direct-to-consumer (D2C) startups – which make, sell, and distribute their products through their own digital channels – are poised to take advantage.

Even before the pandemic, consumers were already familiar with local brands like coffee chain Kopi Kenangan and health food brand Lemonilo. Both companies are backed by venture capital despite being “tech-enabled” (as opposed to being wholly tech businesses). In recent months, more of such companies have raised funding.

Some startups share a common investor in the same stage of investment. Aside from Kopi Kenangan and Lemonilo’s Sequoia Capital-led series B rounds, beverage retailer Haus and shoe manufacturer Brodo both received series A funding from BRI Ventures through its VC arm Sembrani Nusantara Fund.

Not surprisingly, food and beverage (F&B) startups are the most prolific in the D2C industry. Earlier this year, the F&B sector secured millions in investments, with coffee chain Flash Coffee gaining US$15 million and plant-based startup Green Rebel Foods scooping up US$2 million.

There is also Hypefast, a retail group founded by a Lazada alum that invests in and accelerates local brands.

Since its founding in January 2020, Hypefast has acquired around 20 digital and ecommerce-native brands in Southeast Asia and promoted them to the global market. Each brand can receive up to US$10 million in capital from the retail group.

See also: Mapping the global boom of ecommerce roll-up firms

Tech giants have taken notice of the space as well. Accelerator programs like Gojek Xcelerate have propelled the rise of some Indonesian D2C startups such as baby equipment rental platform Gigel and personalized skincare product seller Callista.

The following chart tracks the rising trend of VC investments in Indonesia’s D2C industry.

We also categorized Indonesia’s D2C players into several verticals based on their business or product types: F&B, cloud kitchen, fashion, beauty, health, fast-moving consumer goods, parenting kits, and others.

Here are the details on the funding rounds that we’ve tracked: