To acquire new e-commerce brands in Asia, Rainforest secures US $20 M in pre-Series A round

Rainforest, a Singapore-based e-commerce brand aggregator, has raised a pre-Series A round of $20 million headed by Monk’s Hill Ventures.

January Capital, Crossbeam Venture Partners, Amasia, and Lo & Behold Group are among the other investors in the round. Insignia Ventures and Nordstar, two previous funders, have also joined.

Rainforest will utilize the funds to double down on its growth plan by acquiring more e-commerce businesses in the Asia Pacific, including China, Southeast Asia, and Australia, according to co-founder and CEO JJ Chai.

A portion of the funds will go into hiring new personnel in the acquisition, branding and marketing, product development, supply chain, operations, and strategy departments.

In January 2021, Rainforest was released. It received US$36 million in seed investment in May, led by Nordstar, and included Insignia. A $30 million loan facility from an unnamed US-based debt fund was also included in the deal.

Consumer e-commerce brands are acquired by the firm, which allows entrepreneurs to make a profit. It also invests in acquired brands in order to expand them internationally. It uses its proprietary technology to help these brands improve inventory management, cost optimizations, and expansions to new marketplaces and channels, with a focus on home goods, mother & kids, personal care, and pets.

Rainforest has utilized the prior funding to acquire six Amazon marketplace e-commerce companies. It says that after the acquisition, its portfolio’s yearly growth rates have increased by more than 50%. As part of its newest attempt to grow into the Chinese market, it recently purchased a China-based brand for US$3.6 million.

By the end of 2021, the firm wants to treble its portfolio and grow across European and American markets.

“As one of the largest Amazon sellers in Southeast Asia, Rainforest is tapping into the rise of marketplace sellers off the back of a large, fast-growing e-commerce market,” stated Peng T. Ong, co-founder and managing partner at Monk’s Hill. “JJ and his team have demonstrated thoughtfulness while being formidable operators in acquiring and significantly growing e-commerce brands.”

Rainforest also just hired two vice presidents, Yev Ivanko and Christine Ng. Each of them has over 15 years of worldwide expansion and company development expertise.