Indonesian beauty startup Base gets seed funding from East Ventures, Skystar Capital

Base, an Indonesia-headquartered beauty and wellness startup, has secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding in a round led by East Ventures and Skystar Capital.

Base co-founders Yaumi Fauziah Sugiharta (left) and Ratih Permata Sari / Photo credit: Base

Through its platform, the startup offers personalized skincare products based on online consultation results. It looks to resolve the burden of having too many product options, which is a problem for 72% of women in Indonesia, according to Base’s survey.

With the investment, Base plans to accelerate the growth of its consumer base and bring in more talent.

The company currently caters to Gen Z and millenials, with product prices starting at around US$7. It said it’s working with research and development labs in London and Seoul for its products, which it produces locally in Jakarta.

Established by former Gojek marketing head Yaumi Fauziah Sugiharta and ex-DBS Singapore product manager Ratih Permata Sari, six-month-old Base looks to capitalize on Indonesia’s booming beauty industry.

According to Statista, revenue in the country’s beauty and personal care market is at US$6.9 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow to around US$8.6 billion in 2023.

Another Indonesian firm looking to capitalize on that growth is Social Bella, owner of online beauty marketplace Sociolla, which recently banked US$40 million in a series D round led by East Ventures’ EV Growth and Singapore’s Temasek.

Social Bella co-founder and CEO John Rasjid revealed early this year that the company’s gross merchandise value grew 7x between Q1 2018 and Q1 2019, with an aim to reach at least 4x year on year for 2019.

Around the same time, Indonesian social network for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle The Shonet also secured seed funding to boost its tech infrastructure and strengthen its marketing efforts.