East Ventures Leads Early Stage Funding for D2C Startup “mohjo”

East Ventures leads initial stage funding of undisclosed value for D2C startups (direct-to-consumer) from Singapore, Mohjo. iSeed Southeast Asia, K3 Ventures, and a number of angel investors well-known people participated in the round. Mohjo will use this fresh fund to build the company's capacity, launch more products, strengthen the team, and increase market penetration.

mohjo was founded in January 2021 by Juhi Dang. This startup focuses on providing 100% clean plant-based food and beverage products. The company launched its first product line, namely almond milk and almond milk based drinks in Singapore. This product is made with high quality ingredients and is free from stabilizers, thickeners, artificial sweeteners, and other chemicals.

Dang explained that most of the commercially available dairy alternatives are low in nutrients and contain stabilizers. The product contains 95%-98% water, is mixed with additives, and has a bad taste or no taste at all.

“Mohjo was made based on my experience as a consumer of alternative dairy products. As a child, I drank fresh milk, but when I found out that I was lactose intolerant, I couldn't find any plant-based milk that tasted good. When I moved to Singapore, I thought I'd find a nice and clean dairy alternative here, but I didn't. All I could find was a liquid that looked like milk with no nutrition or taste," he said, Monday (16/8).

Co-Founder & Managing Partner of East Ventures Willson Cuaca said, as the lactose-intolerant population grows worldwide, we see great opportunity from plant-based alternatives (plant-based alternatives). This market is gaining momentum and experiencing increased demand as people begin to reevaluate their diet.

“As a D2C company, Mohjo was founded to serve consumers who are looking for healthier yet delicious food and drinks. We believe that Mohjo can grow by bringing innovation to the market,” he explained.

mohjo is digital native brands which has a team with extensive experience in innovation, Branding and strategy. Dang has a background of over 13 years in direct consumer product innovation. In addition, professionals in the field of digital branding and marketing occupy the company's senior leadership.

mohjo is expanding and strengthening operations, sales and marketing in Singapore. “We are looking for people who are passionate and ambitious and believe that we can change the planet with the choices we make when we eat. mohjo is building an inclusive workplace where business is done the right way,” he added.

The milk alternative has marketsize globally valued at approximately $23 billion, and it is estimated that CAGR will grow by approximately 12,5% ​​in 2021 to 2028. The Asia Pacific region dominates this market with a market share of 44%, according to Grand View Research.

The dairy alternative market is booming due to the increasing number of people with lactose intolerance and flexitarianism, public awareness to focus on healthier choices, and ethical and environmental concerns in consuming dairy products.

Why investors are attracted to D2C startups

Mohjo added to the ranks of D2C startups that pocketed funding from local investors. From monitoring DailySocial, other local venture capitalists have also begun to allocate funds for non-digital startups. Some of them are Alpha JWC Ventures, Intudo Ventures, Teja Ventures, Salt Ventures, and others. Beauty startups are one vertical D2C which investors are increasingly interested in.

MDI Ventures Head of Investor Relations & Capital Raising Kenneth Li said, there are a number of factors why beauty startups are attractive to VCs. First, brand today's locales use the D2C model to target segments digital native.

Second, consumers of beauty products tend to have user stickiness and repeat purchases tall one. This means that this business can pocket business growth quickly. Of course for VCs, going into this vertical can be a business differentiation. However, investment still requires scalability.

Meanwhile, Kolibra Capital Senior Investment Analyst William Auwines highlighted another perspective. Lots brand local beauty develop strategy marketing different ways to build a brand equity-his. In addition, what is quite prominent is that beauty products have low production costs so that the decision to buy products becomes easier and easier nature His business will always need constant repurchasing.

It assesses attendance E-commerce such as Tokopedia, Shopee, and Lazada to become game changer for this industry because they are able to pocket consumer purchasing journey. As a result, not only the beauty industry players have increased, but also the supporting businesses, such as sales marketing, and logistics for the SME segment. From this exposure, the beauty industry becomes an attractive vertical for VCs as it has managed to show impressive growth in recent years.

“As VCs, we usually ignore traditional companies, such as fashion and retail. For us, there are many new technology companies that are growing exponentially by keeping costs low, reaching the market through online marketing, and improving their logistics services to make a profit. This factor makes the valuation much higher compared to traditional companies,” he explained.