YOUNG WORKFORCE Edamama company picture after Family Expo 2022 —Contributed photos
Edamama, the pandemic-born e-commerce platform catering to parent and infant needs, is ready to go offline after years of thriving in the digital space.
But this is not a goodbye. In fact, the digital marketplace sees this as the next logical step to make the business even bigger.
Bela Gupta D’Souza, cofounder and CEO of Edamama, tells the Inquirer the company is set on building a physical footprint to grow its customer base of five 5 million families subscribing to the platform that now carries over 80,000 products.
The goal is to establish 100 stores in the next five years across the country while keeping the momentum of its online shop where it all started. Currently, it has two pop-up stores in Metro Manila.
Edamama hopes to have five permanent outlets by the end of the year in the capital where loyal customers can browse their personally curated products. D’Souza says they are focusing first in the National Capital Region before going into regions, eyeing Cebu as the next potential touchpoint.
“Our goal has always been to be where our customers are. Let’s build an omnichannel business,” D’Souza says.
Startup to watch
Edamama had its humble beginning with a 100-square-meter (sq m) warehouse in Mandaluyong back in 2020. Last year, it transferred to a sprawling 6,000-sq m facility in Quezon City to stock up more as order volume went through the roof.
The company is not stopping here. It plans to open more warehouses, especially in the regions, as it further scales up the business.
“With e-commerce it’s still easy to consolidate in one warehouse but the minute you are an omnichannel brand, we certainly want to invest in warehousing facilities in provinces as well, not only to accelerate our delivery but to better service and fulfill stocks at our physical stores,” she explains.
To back up its operations, Edamama has raised over $35 million from funding rounds, which includes the most recent capital infusion of about $10 million to $12 million.
D’Souza, together with her husband and cofounder Nish, has been working tirelessly to build the Edamama empire—and their main source of inspiration is their two children. Their family is about to get bigger too as the couple is expecting a third child soon.
“I remember ordering online and often receiving products that were not up to quality standards that I was expecting. The marketplace experience really didn’t cater so much to specific customers like parents,” she recalls.
This drove D’Souza, who has always been passionate about technology and building up her own startup, to start a business in e-commerce.
The efforts were not left unnoticed as Edamama was recently included in Forbes Asia’s “100 to Watch 2023,” which puts the spotlight on small companies and startups in Asia-Pacific.
“We really have to learn things by doing trial and error, figuring out the needs and preferences of our customers and creating a very innovative and holistic e-commerce experience for our customer base,” D’Souza says.
Quality products for everyone
Edamama offers a wide variety of products for parents and children, including fashion, food, childproofing, crib essentials, breast pumps, post-natal recovery care, toys and homeschooling needs.
But even before these items go live on the online platform, the company ensures these are at par with the standards the customers deserve.
“First and foremost is really the safety and reliability of the brand and the product,” the founder says.
“So we really want Edamama to be a trust platform for families. They shouldn’t have to think twice about the safety, reliability and authenticity of the products that they’re getting from us,” she stresses.
For one, D’Souza says the company only works with authorized distributors of the brands it sells to guarantee product quality.
Its bestsellers include diapers and baby wipes, diaper cream, lotion, bathing products, strollers, high chairs, cleaning supplies and even kitchen accessories.
The company is also conscious of the price points to make sure their customers can access quality products on a budget.
“Every type of mama should find what she’s looking for in our platform, regardless of her budget,” D’Souza says.
Apart from carrying other brands, Edamama has started its own clothing line for kids with Bean.ph. The company is teaming up with local enterprises for this venture.
She says the company intends to introduce more products of their own to address the gaps with the current offering.
Support system
Beyond the products, Edamama wants to extend support to moms and all the parents, especially those who find the parenting journey overwhelming. So the e-commerce platform also produces multimedia content written by moms to provide tips and guidance on various matters, including which products are suitable for their kids.
“Parenting can be a very overwhelming experience and we’re hoping that our content really helps demystify the journey of parenting,” D’Souza says. “These are different things that can happen along the way and hopefully, we are a helpful resource to parents as they think through the entire pacing from pregnancy to having a baby to the growing up years,” she adds.
Edamama is set to hold Family Expo 2023 this Sept. 15 to Sept.17 at the SMX Mall of Asia. It will feature over 10,000 products from more than 250 brands.