Onigi Offers SMEs a Turnkey Online Sales Solution in Facebook

The team from Onigi took the stage at Startup Asia this afternoon to talk about its product, a simple solution that allows small and medium-sized businesses to set up online stores via Facebook.

The idea is that Onigi is a turnkey solution for businesses looking to sell online and tap into the Facebook audience. If your company doesn’t have the means to set up an online store on its own, Onigi allows you to log in via Facebook and build a store within five minutes. That store can then be hosted on your Facebook page, on your own domain, or on a custom Onigi subdomain. Best of all, the basic service is free, although there is also a premium service available for 50,000 rupiah ($5.29) per month.

The service has experienced impressive growth thus far, and currently boasts more than 14,000 users. Its goal is to hit 100,000 users by the end of this year, and one million users by the end of the next. The team of five has already arranged local partners in Indonesia.

Judge Daniel Saito wondered about scaling and the service being tied to Facebook, but Onigi feels its focus on SMEs will minimize the pain of scaling, and it has already pivoted beyond just a Facebook store. And why are they just focused on the Indonesian market? The team says that payment complications and shipping costs is one big reason. But Judge Benjamin Joffe noted that the company could probably make much more money in the United States.

This is a part of our coverage of Startup Asia Jakarta 2012, our startup event running on June 8 and 9. For the rest of our Startup Arena pitches, see here. You can follow along on Twitter at @startupasia, on our Facebook page, on Google Plus, or via RSS.