This startup hit the mother lode by tapping into the power of parents

Fancy doing a survey for S$1 (US$0.75)? Or a simple questionnaire for S$0.10 (US$0.08)?

The numbers may not seem like much, but they can add up. For moms who want to find a community of like-minded parents, try new products and services, and earn supplemental income, Supermom has been a boon.

Supermom team / Photo credit: Supermom

Supermom was founded by Joan Ong, a mom herself, in 2013. The firm began by organizing events for mothers to meet and build connections. It later moved into holding exhibitions centered around mom and babycare products.

The business has been successful on many counts. Supermom has been profitable since 2015, with the exception of 2020 when Covid-19 collapsed its events business.

It’s a feat for the company, which has raised over S$8 million (US$6 million) to date from investors including Qualgro and AC Ventures, as well as Singaporean businessperson Koh Boon Hwee.

Fortunately for the firm, it had begun its pivot into a data-centered business just before the pandemic hit.

For the over 200 brands that Supermom works with – including food company Kraft Heinz, diaper brand Huggies, and insurance firm Prudential – the survey responses form the basis of which they can glean on hundreds, if not thousands, of parents.

These surveys provide details about a large sample of Southeast Asian parents, including how old their children are and their parenting inclinations and interests.

Luke Lim, CEO of Supermom, tells Tech in Asia that he sees a market gap in a “cookie-less” world where brands, who typically operate through retailers and distributors, do not know their audience.

“They might not know the consumer directly and depend on insights from research companies,” he says.

Supermom’s main users are millennial mothers aged between 25 and 40. As of January, it had about 20 million users on its platform.

A more meaningful measurement of the company’s reach, however, is the number of communities its users are in and where they share their experiences and product reviews.

Across Southeast Asia, Supermom’s users are part of over 5,000 Facebook groups, some with thousands of members. That’s not counting communities on messaging apps like Telegram or WhatsApp.