Etaily, a fast-growing Philippines-based e-commerce-enabler led by former Zalora executives, announced today that it has wrapped up a $4.3 million seed extension round, on top of its initial $1.6 million funding round announced in August 2021. This brings Etaily’s total funding raised thus far to $5.9 million.
The funding was led by the Gokongwei Group’s investment arm, JG Digital Equity Ventures (JGDEV), and will be used to push Etaily’s regional expansion while developing its offline-to-online (O2O) cloud software.
New investors in the round include owners of Century Pacific Group, Landmark Department Store, Abenson.com, the Gobi-Core Philippines Fund, and CARRO Chief Strategy Officer Kenji Narushima. Returning investors Ayala Ventures and Foxmont Capital also participated.
Founded in 2020 by former Rocket Internet and Zalora exec Alexander Friedhoff, Etaily helps more than 20 brands including Landmark, Midea, Toshiba, and Terranova build their online retail operations. In its first year of operations, Etaily processed more than one million transactions and made more than 50,000 unique products available across Southeast Asia.
Etaily co-founder and CEO Friedhoff said, “We are very grateful to receive so much trust in our growth stage. It legitimizes our traction in building a sustainable and scalable business model that can create value to the core businesses of our existing and future brands and, now even more excitingly, of our investors.”
The Zalora ties remain strong at Etaily, as two other ex-Zalora execs are board directors and founding investors: former Zalora Philippines Managing Director Constantin Robertz and former Zalora Philippines Director of Operations Jannis Dargel.
Etaily will use part of the new capital to push regional expansion as well as to continuously develop solutions for its brands, including an O2O cloud software that integrates offline point-of-sales to allow instant commerce and fulfillment out of stores.
Slated to launch in the coming months, this new O2O platform will enable retailers to list offline store inventory on their online channels, fulfill orders out of the store, and pick couriers based on preferred parameters.
JGDEV CEO Jojo Malolos said, “With Etaily, we are able to leverage on the company’s expertise and provide our conglomerate’s ecosystem with its e-commerce innovations, thereby contributing more impact on people’s lives and the economy.”
Meanwhile, Core Capital co-founder Carlo Delantar noted that Etaily showcases that the Philippine retailers, with the right platform and support, can be in a sustainable acceleration.
The Po family, who controls Century Pacific, one of the Philippines’ largest branded food companies in the Philippines, is an Etaily customer in addition to being an investor in this round.
Executive chairman Chris Po said, “We launched our own pet food range, Goodest, with Etaily, and they have proven to be a strong partner, providing us with a seamless rollout and demonstrating operational and commercial excellence. This gave our group the confidence to invest in Etaily and be at the forefront of technology and innovation.”
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