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Millennial’s beauty startup Social Bella surpasses $225 million

Millennial's beauty startup Social Bella surpasses $225 million
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How Indonesia's counterfeiting problem spurred a multi-million dollar beauty business

When? covid epidemic It was severe in 2020, most of the world was in quarantine and more online shopping.

But Chrisanti Indiana did something unexpected: it expanded its e-commerce business offline.

Her beauty and personal care e-commerce start, SociolaIn 2019 it had only two brick-and-mortar stores in Indonesia. He said that by the end of 2021 that number had increased “10 times”.

“Many people have told us that it was a very brave move to truly open an offline presence while everyone else is closing their offline stores. [during the pandemic]” he added.

But it was a “well calculated” move for Social Bella, who runs Sociolla.

We know it’s time for us to really prepare to make sure we can serve more and more consumers after the pandemic.

Chrisanti Indiana

Co-founder and CMO, Sociolla

“We know it’s time to really prepare to make sure we can serve more and more consumers after the pandemic.”

Looking ahead was the right move for the 31-year-old actress. Her online and offline approach has turned her e-commerce startup into a multi-million dollar beauty conglomerate.

It has raised nearly $225 million since 2018 and has drawn an impressive roster of investors that includes East Ventures, Jungle Ventures, Temasek and Pavilion Capital.

Indiana, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Social Bella, says: Make CNBC How he took his Jakarta-based startup to the next level.

Fighting counterfeit products

The idea for Sociolla came about in 2015, when Indiana returned to Jakarta after studying in Australia.

The makeup addict realized that in Australia international brands have easy access to a wide variety of beauty products. This was in stark contrast to Indonesia.

“There were a lot of options for me but then I came back and there was basically none left,” Indiana said.

“There wasn’t a platform that had it all – I needed to find specific vendors on social media, ask friends who could help buy the product for you. [when they are] abroad.”

What made matters worse for her was the proliferation of fake makeup products online, sometimes sold for a “small fraction” of the original price.

I still vividly remember that there were many similar sellers online, especially on social media, claiming that their products are 99% genuine. What does that mean, is it 99% real?

Chrisanti Indiana

Co-founder and CMO, Sociolla

“I still vividly remember that there are many similar sellers online, especially on social media, claiming that their products are 99% authentic. What does that mean, 99% authentic?”

Indeed, locally produced fakes abound in Indonesia, thanks to cheap labor costs and materials. According to this and local reportIndonesian authorities seized $9 million worth of illegal cosmetics in 2018, double the previous year.

Indiana was stunned to see friends buying these products.

She said, “Skin care, makeup. It’s something you put on your skin. That’s weird to me.”

Sociolla expanded into brick and mortar shops. It currently has 47 stores in Indonesia and 16 stores in Vietnam.

social bella

Determined to build a space where consumers can buy safe and authentic products, Indiana teamed up with her brother and friend to launch Social Bella with $13,000 in startup capital.

“Since we started, we make sure we only work with authorized distributors or brand owners,” Indiana said.

Building an ‘ecosystem’

Social Bella was founded in 2015 by Chrisanti Indiana, his brother and president Christopher Madiam (left) and CEO John Rasjid (right).

social bella

Indiana said the “beauty journey” for customers goes beyond just putting things in their shopping carts and checking them out.

“We realized that there are many touchpoints that really matter… Finding the right products for you isn’t just about going to the store and picking it up. You’ll be sure to read reviews, talk to or talk to your friends. Google before,” he added.

“Soco gives them access to tons of product reviews before purchasing them.”

On top of that, Social Bella also works beauty diary – a lifestyle website and lilaca Online retailer for mothers and babies.

It’s all part of building the “ecosystem” business, as Indiana calls it.

We want to make sure we scale up and reach more and more consumers. If Social Bella becomes a unicorn, that’s a bonus

“We want to serve more and more women, not only in beauty and personal care, but also in other industries.”

The startup appears to be on the right track – now with more than 30 million users across all business units, Social Bella said it has sold an inventory of 12,000 products from 400 brands worldwide.

Indonesia’s next unicorn?

Social Bella aims to serve more female customers.

social bella

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