Kuai Commerce, a startup looking to enable Western ecommerce brands to sell their goods in China, has closed a pre-seed funding round of $2.4m (£2m).
For many ecommerce brands in the UK, the lucrative move of expanding their services to China comes with complex hurdles due to cultural and regulatory differences. This was the inspiration behind Kuai Commerce, which claims it can help direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands sell their products to the Chinese Gen Z market.
“Our social commerce solution is a market-expanding technology, meaning brands that wouldn’t even consider China before now have a real opportunity to build a profitable business there,” said Jonny Plein, co-founder of Kuai Commerce.
“Ecommerce in the West is having a tough moment, but we believe we are working on the most lucrative opportunity of the next decade.”
The funding round came courtesy of Playfair Capital, with participation from Haatch Ventures, Portfolio Ventures and Unbundled VC.
“Many brands never get started in China, whilst others receive piecemeal, misaligned, and substandard service from a hotchpotch of uncoordinated service providers,” said Chris Smith, managing partner of Playfair Capital.
“Kuai’s tech-first, full-stack approach, combined with the incredibly deep and rich market experience of the team accumulated over many years, is a compelling proposition for any brand wanting to build a successful long-term business in China.”
