The Poptron team
Poptron, a lifestyle social commerce platform in Malaysia, has secured US$1 million in strategic investment from an unnamed NASDAQ-listed company.
These investments will be used to develop the platform’s version 2.0 (expected to be rolled out in January 2021) as well as expand the team and begin operations in Singapore by Q1 2021.
The Kuala Lumpur-headquartered tech startup said in a statement that it is planning to raise an additional US$375,000 via pitchIN, a local equity crowdfunding platform, in Q1 2021.
Launched in September 2019, Poptron is a curated e-commerce platform that connects microbrands — selling high-quality, natural and eco-friendly products or artisanal goods — with like-minded global users.
Also Read: A look at the future of social commerce
The firm helps sellers overcome key pain points in customer acquisition, business management and regional growth by using a single platform to handle everything from enquiries to shipping.
Users will also be able to discover, follow and shop with peace of mind through an intuitive user interface while tracking each delivery straight to their doorstep.
Poptron claims that over 100 microbrands with more than 700 different types of product listings have since come on board, ranging from personal care, fashion items, arts and crafts, to pets necessities and home and living products.
Founder Brian Johnson Lowe said: “Before the Movement Control Order (MCO), I used to frequent local arts bazaars and discovered a lot of interesting, high-quality products from small brands and businesses. Due to the pandemic, bazaars came to a halt, so these brands are depending on online sales, usually gathered from various social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Online demand generation became a critical area of focus, and it became quite evident that securing new customers online isn’t as easy as it seems.”
Globally, there are almost 2.2 million microbrands in 2020, with the total available market of US$7.6 billion.
Also Read: What customers really want from brands and businesses in the post-pandemic world
Out of this, the serviceable available market for Poptron is worth US$3.8 billion, which counts for 1.5 million out of the expected 3.79 million global microbrand market in 2025. Poptron aims to capture US$1.6 billion of the market share with 600,000 microbrands generating its global revenue in 2025.
“With Poptron, we hope to gather all these brands in one place for consumers to discover, our idea is to prove the value of this unique platform and increase the business returns of our merchants first. Being able to make the strides that we have during the course of this year is a testament to the drive and passion of the team,” he added.
—
Image Credit: Poptron
The post Poptron rakes in US$1M to connect microbrands selling eco-friendly products with like-minded global users appeared first on e27.