🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The market’s rapid growth comes from a few categories and a clear front-runner

• Food and beverage ecommerce sales grew 88% year on year, well above the 7.61% CAGR projected for Indonesia’s overall food and beverages market for 2024–2032. Online FMCG food and beverage sales are growing faster than the wider sector 1.
• Shopee led Indonesia’s ecommerce GMV (gross merchandise value, a common measure of total sales processed on a platform) in 2024 with 46%, ahead of Tokopedia at 23% 2.
• Beauty stayed on top. In Q1 2025, seven of Shopee Indonesia’s ten best-selling FMCG brands were beauty and skincare names such as Skintific and Wardah 3.

Platform fights and tax rules could change how brands sell

• Compas ranked ShopTokopedia as the fastest-growing platform in most categories in Q1 2026. TikTok’s integration with Tokopedia is lifting growth against larger incumbents such as Shopee 2.
• Rival platforms are leaning harder on live-selling and influencer marketing. These channels fit Indonesia, where 96% of shoppers browse and buy via smartphones 4.
• Draft rules cited by Reuters were set for July 2025. They would require marketplaces to deduct and remit a 0.5% tax for certain sellers 2.
• Added compliance work could shape which platforms sellers choose for expansion.