E-commerce enabler by Lazada co-founders bags US$25m from brand accelerator

CREA, an e-commerce enabler started by Lazada co-founders Aimone Ripa di Meana and Alessandro Piscini, has landed US$25 million in funding from China-focused beauty brand accelerator SuperOrdinary.

Through this investment, SuperOrdinary will take a minority stake in Crea. Both companies will build up a global distribution platform to allow brands to access digital consumers in South-east Asia, China and the US. With its latest raise, Crea has attracted US$38 million in total funding to date.

Founded in Thailand in 2019, Crea helps global brands in beauty, fast-moving consumer goods and fashion tap the South-east Asian digital consumer market. Its core services include store and channel management, fulfilment, digital marketing, data insights and an omnichannel solution called Cusp.

Crea launched in Singapore and Malaysia in March, and has plans to expand to Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines in the "near future". Its portfolio of over 70 lifestyle brands includes Kiehl's, Clarins and Nestle Dolce Gusto. The startup expects revenue to triple in 2022 and grow by 500 per cent by 2023.

Crea is "uniquely positioned" with an omnichannel strategy for global brands to tap digitally-savvy consumers in South-east Asia, said Ripa di Meana.

Similar to Crea, SuperOrdinary provides brands with services such as global demand generation, distribution, branding and marketing, consumer data analytics and product registration. It specialises in bringing American brands to the Chinese market. Its portfolio brands include Drunk Elephant, Malin + Goetz, The Ordinary and Supergoop!.

Julian Reis, chief executive and founder of SuperOrdinary, said: ""We are thrilled to partner with Crea and offer our portfolio of beauty brands a cost-effective, one-stop-shop solution to enter one of the fastest-growing digital consumer markets for beauty and personal care."

Beyond its core business, SuperOrdinary is focused on incubating, investing in, and acquiring brands, with a vision of creating a "house of global beauty".