PARIS — Independent Indonesian vegan beauty brand Esqa has raised $6 million in a Series A round led by Unilever Ventures, Unilever’s private equity and venture capital arm, which is making its first foray into Southeast Asia with the investment.
East Ventures also contributed to the financing.
Esqa is announced to be the first vegan cosmetics brand launched in Indonesia, the fastest growing beauty market in Southeast Asia, according to digital ecosystem lab iStrata, citing data from Statista.
Esqa is known for its makeup products, but it’s just branched out into skincare. The brand has 120 stock-keeping units, each of which is certified halal, as well as vegan.
You sell through omnichannel platforms, especially through marketplaces, e-commerce, and your own direct-to-consumer website. On a physical level, Esqa is sold at Sephora, Watsons, and local cosmetics stores in 47 Indonesian cities. Esqua has also expanded its reach in Vietnam through Sociolla stores.
In Southeast Asia, the brand is present in countries such as Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.
Esqa was founded by Cindy Angelina, who serves as CEO, and Kezia Trihatmanto, the brand’s chief product officer. Their goal was to make luxury beauty practical and affordable, according to a statement from Esqa.
“With the growing middle class, Esqa is in the best position to tap into this mass market, through its inclusive products designed to simplify the beauty routine of the modern woman,” the brand said in the statement.
“Innovation is at the forefront of our brand,” Trihatmanto said, in the statement. “Our approach is to think globally and act regionally, therefore Esqa quickly detects international trends, but attends [them] to Asian skin and local demands, in keeping with our customer-centric approach, providing products that the customer needs.”
Esqa executives were not looking to raise funds initially, as the brand has been consistently profitable, they said.
“But we realized that strategic expertise is needed as the business grows,” said Angelina. “With Unilever Ventures’ experience in partnering with visionary founders in building iconic consumer brands around the world and East Venture’s strong ecosystem in Indonesia will enable Esqa to embark on its next stage of growth.”
That includes scaling its omnichannel distribution and reaching new cities at home and abroad, while growing its product offering, talent pool, and reinforcing its go-to-market strategy.
Pawan Chaturverdi, a partner at Unilever Ventures, said Esqa is becoming “one of the most exciting independent beauty brands in Southeast Asia.”
“Esqa’s ability to innovate an exciting line of products that sense international trends while adapting to local needs has been critical to its early success,” he said.
“There is a growing demand for high-quality, hyper-local and affordable beauty products, and we are confident that Esqa’s innovative natural ingredients and broad product offering will propel Esqa to be a leader in the beauty market in Southeast Asia.” said Avina Sugiarto, a partner at East Ventures.
Other past beauty investments made by Unilever Ventures include True Botanicals, Nutrafol, Frank Body and Plum.
Source: news.google.com