Why commerce incubator Etaily is venturing into celebrity partnerships for launching digital-native brands

Etaily leadership team are (L-R) Toti Wong (Chief Commercial Officer), Lester Cuneta (Chief Growth Officer), Tatiana Czyomer (Chief Operations Officer), and Alexander Friedhoff (Founder and Chief Executive Officer).

Etaily, a digital-native retail platform, has announced a series of celebrity partnerships to launch new brands across categories like Home & Living, Beauty & Lifestyle, and Petcare.

Etaily’s move to collaborate with high-profile personalities reflects its strategy to differentiate itself and allow celebrities and influencers to use Etaily’s infrastructure as a service.

Etaily’s ecosystem includes end-to-end solutions for Commerce and omnichannel global brands, along with its own portfolio of brands.

Today, Etaily has served more than 80 global consumer brands and processed over 30 million orders on platforms such as TikTok, Alibaba’s Lazada, Shopee, and direct-to-consumer brand.com online stores.

Gross sales at Etaily in 2024 have tripled and have received annualized $100 million in recurring revenues in 2024.

Its portfolio of exclusive brands currently comprises Loreal Professionel, Kérastase, Levi’s, Crocs, Skechers, and Reckitt, bringing its total brand count to more than 80, managed on +250 storefronts. Its brands range from categories such as pet supplements, health, personal care, and food and beverage.

Etaily’s vision is to become a platform for accelerating digital brands for today’s consumers. They operate and incubate leading digitally-native brands through innovative partnerships.

Is this Etaily’s first time assisting with brand launches on Lazada or Shopee?

No, this is not our first time launching brands on platforms like Lazada, Shopee, or Zalora. However, our recent celebrity partnerships mark a unique milestone. While we have incubated and launched several brands before—some on direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms and others on Southeast Asia’s leading marketplaces—this is our first initiative involving celebrity collaborations.

As a next-generation consumer products platform, we leverage technology, industry expertise, and strategic collaborations to ignite growth and launch brands beyond expectations. We have done this with household names like Floof Pets, Goodest, and several others already, now we bring in celebrities.

What sets this apart is the level of involvement from our celebrity partners. These collaborations are not limited to endorsements—they involve co-founding roles where celebrities participate in everything from product design to marketing strategy.

How did Etaily get connected with its celebrity partners?

We’ve partnered with MCN’s (Multichannel Network), which manages a diverse roster of talent and influencers across Southeast Asia. Through this partnership, we’ve been able to identify celebrities whose personal brands align with our vision and the whitespaces we aim to fill in the market.

For example, when exploring opportunities in categories like Beauty and Lifestyle or Petcare, MCN introduced us to personalities passionate about these areas. These collaborations are not simply endorsement deals—our celebrity partners take on active roles as co-founders, contributing to product development, brand positioning, and marketing strategies. This deeper involvement ensures that the resulting brands resonate authentically with their audiences.

How do celebrity collaborations fit into Etaily’s overall strategy?

Since our founding, we’ve focused on three pillars of brand building: product innovation, omnichannel expansion, and brand equity development.

These celebrity partnerships align perfectly with this strategy. They allow us to invest heavily in:

1. Product innovation: Developing unique, high-quality products with input from our celebrity partners
2. Brand equity: Leveraging celebrity influence to establish a strong emotional connection with consumers
3. Omnichannel expansion: Launching on platforms like Lazada, Shopee, and Zalora, while also expanding into offline opportunities for select brands

By combining these pillars, we’re able to transform brands from niche ideas into household names.

Does Etaily plan to focus more on launching new brands versus solely operating them?

Our approach involves a balanced mix of acquisition, incubation, and operation. When we operate a brand or build one from scratch, our goal is to scale it into a recognizable and trusted name.

This requires significant investment across our three pillars—product innovation, brand equity, and omnichannel expansion. Whether through acquisition or incubation, we apply the same rigorous process, using data-driven insights to identify opportunities and ensure long-term success.

What is Etaily’s playbook for launching a brand?

We’ve built a proprietary data platform that allows us to identify whitespaces in our key categories—Home & Living, Beauty & Lifestyle, and Petcare. This platform analyzes market trends, consumer behavior, and financial feasibility to evaluate opportunities.

Once we’ve identified a promising whitespace, we assess market size and scalability to determine investment levels. Larger market opportunities justify deeper investments, including marketing, influencer campaigns, and infrastructure development.

We also focus heavily on how brands show up on digital marketplaces. This involves:

• Optimizing product listings with high-quality visuals and detailed descriptions
• Leveraging platforms’ advertising tools, like Lazada’s Sponsored Search and Shopee Ads
• Creating engaging branded content, including videos and livestreams tailored to Southeast Asian consumers

What have you found that is helpful in launching new brands on platforms like Lazada and Shopee?

One of the key factors is how products are presented on digital shelves. We invest heavily in creating an optimal online shopping experience. This includes:

• Professionally designed imagery and videos to showcase the products
• Strategic use of affiliate programs and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns to drive traffic
• Collaborating with influencers and leveraging livestream commerce to connect with consumers in real-time
• Proprietary digital shelf monitoring

Our approach ensures that new brands not only stand out in competitive categories but also build lasting relationships with their target audiences.

Commerce Incubator Etaily’s approach to celebrity collaborations and its focus on omnichannel expansion is setting a new benchmark for launching successful brands in Southeast Asia’s retail ecosystem.

Founded in 2020 and based in the Philippines, Etaily has raised more than $20million in Series A funding.

The round was led by SKS Capital, a Chinese and Taiwanese private equity firm, and Singapore’s Pavilion Capital. SBI ICCP, a joint venture between ICCP Venture Partners in the Philippines and Japan’s SBI Holdings (formerly SoftBank Investments) and Kaya Founders also participated, along with the Magsaysay family, Chan family, Foxmont Capital, and JGDEV, the corporate venture arm of JG Summit Holdings.

Other shareholders of Etaily are the Ayala Conglomerate as well as the Cheng family of Landmark.