Unilever Ventures, the venture arm of global consumer goods giant Unilever, has invested $4 million (355 million rubles) in the development of Indonesian vegan cosmetics brand Esqa, online publication Green Queen reported on July 8.
This investment follows a previous investment round of $6 million (RUB 530 million) in 2022, also led by Unilever. Jakarta-based Esqa is Indonesia’s first vegan cosmetics brand.
All Esqa makeup products for face, eyes, cheeks and lips are also Halal certified – Indonesia is home to the largest Muslim population in the world. “We develop innovative products that are at the forefront of the international makeup scene”say company founders Cindy Angelina and Keziah Trihatmanto.
They initially invested $20,000 (1.75 million rubles) in the startup to launch its first product, which became profitable within two years. Since then, the company has expanded to a business with more than 30 products and a presence in 47 local cities, as well as Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.
“We were able to double our revenue every year, even during the pandemic when sales across all cosmetics categories were declining.”Angelina said. However, the company’s big success came through social media. “We didn’t start using TikTok until November. [2022 года]”, Angelina explained. Our growth on TikTok increased six-fold in the first quarter of 2023.”.
Indonesia has the largest number of TikTok users in the world, with an estimated 42% of them aged between 18 and 24.
Consumer goods giant Unilever has previously been criticised for softening its climate targets under pressure from investors. The investment in Esqa, Indonesia’s leading vegan cosmetics brand, will allow it to tap into a $19 billion (1.7 trillion rouble) global market that is expected to grow by almost 7% annually until 2032.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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