Signature Market receives funding from RHL Ventures

• Has grown its revenue from US$243,723 in 2016 to US$3.29 million in 2018
• Focus for now is Malaysia with its vast opportunities in the FMCG sector

RHL Ventures, the Malaysia-based private investment firm, on Jan 17 announced its investment into Signature Market; a Malaysian e-commerce platform specialising in direct-to-consumer sales of healthy snacks.

RHL Ventures participated in Signature Market’s Series A round, along with other investors such as the Axiata Digital Innovation Fund.

Signature Market’s goal is to make healthier food products more accessible and affordable in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. The company is achieving this by selling directly on their self-developed e-commerce platform, which allows them to reach out to a wider audience and collect consumer data to develop a more localised strategy to the market.

This route also provides Signature Market with the flexibility to bypass costlier distribution channels, therefore allowing them to pass the savings on to the consumer without sacrificing product quality and freshness.

“Nutritious options have typically been priced out of the reach of many Malaysian consumers, thus limiting their accessibility,” said RHL Ventures managing partner Rachel Lau.

“We decided to back Edwin, John and their team as they’re using technology to create a new and innovative way for people to access healthy snacks; helping Malaysians eat more nutritiously and lead healthier lifestyles.”

Signature Market is growing in tandem with a rising trend of healthy snacking around the world.

Signature Market, which uses only 100% natural ingredients with no preservatives, is spearheading this growth in Malaysia and soon plans to do the same in Southeast Asia.

“Consumers today want a healthier lifestyle but do not want to relinquish their comfort food,” Signature Market co-founder said Edwin Wang.

“We’re excited to be working with RHL Ventures as they are sharing their regional network expertise with us to help us scale regionally. However, our focus for now is in Malaysia as we see vast opportunities in the local FMCG sector that we can take advantage of.”

Founded as Signature Snack in 2014, Signature Market is a direct-to-consumer purveyor of natural and organic snacks that delivers its orders directly to its customers’ doors.

The company was established by Edwin Wang and John Cheng, both of whom collectively hold over 30 years of experience in the internet industry.

Since 2016, Signature Market has grown its revenue from US$243,723 (RM1 million) to US$3.29 million (RM13.5 million) in 2018; increasing their staff strength from five to 50 people today.

While Malaysia remains their focus for now, Wang and his team are eyeing other countries in Southeast Asia as part of their next expansion plan, due to the similar strong demand for healthy food products in this region.