Vanitee announces S$2 million funding from Luxasia and angel investor Robert Yap

Source: Vanitee website.

Vanitee, which makes an app to locate and book beauty services in Singapore, has received a S$2 million shot in the arm to boost business expansion. This first round of financing for the four-month-old startup comes from luxury fragrance and cosmetics company Luxasia Group and angel investor Robert Yap, the Executive Chairman of supply chain management company YCH Group.

Douglas Gan, co-founder and CEO of Vanitee said Luxasia's investment could open doors for Vanitee to collaborate with the leading beauty brands of the world. 

“We are in the business of helping people look and feel good, and nobody knows this better than Luxasia with its commanding 19-year leadership in this industry. Being able to tap on Luxasia’s network reach and Robert Yap’s ingenious use of technology puts us in the driving seat of this thriving online-to-offline business which is taking the world by storm,” he said. 

The investment will be used to accelerate Vanitee’s user acquisition, grow its engineering team and community teams to improve the overall booking experience in terms of security and user friendliness. Since its debut in May 2015, Vanitee has become the leading marketplace in Singapore to discover and book appointments with independent nail and make-up artists, hair stylists and other beauticians. 

It has signed up over 400 beauty and wellness providers and commonly clocks 70 bookings worth over S$3,300 in transaction value in a given hour during peak timings. “With the investment boost, we are ramping up our outreach to the community and aim to hit our 1,000th beauty and wellness partner before the next Chinese New Year (Editor's note: February 8, 2016),” added Gan.

Patrick Chong, Founder and CEO of Luxasia Group said, “Luxasia Group strives to pursue excellence and promote entrepreneurial and creative ideas in the beauty industry. We are pleased to support local startup Vanitee, who aims to cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit among local beauty professionals and uphold high standards in the beauty industry. We believe this collaboration will nurture beauty and wellness artists in Singapore to gain confidence through entrepreneurship and find their footing in a competitive market through providing quality services.”

Robert Yap, Executive Chairman of YCH Group said, “With the rise of e-commerce, beauty marketplaces on mobile platforms will be the future trend for consumers. Vanitee’s services are timely and relevant as consumers now turn to their mobile devices to find beauty solutions to enhance their pampering experience in a fast and convenient manner.”

Vanitee is founded by Douglas Gan, Choy Peng Kong, Kuik Xiao Shi, and Meters Ang. It is a mobile-first platform that serves both sides of the marketplace, enabling beauty artists with access to powerful tools to grow and manage their businesses on-the-go while customers can discover beauty artists near them and book appointments in real time. The app enables users to search, chat and book a wide range of beauty services such as manicures, makeup, facials, hair-styling and eyebrow-shaping without the hassle of making phone calls or writing emails. Customers can either book visits or enjoy the convenience of house-calls.

The mobile beauty marketplace is clearly benefitting the local beauty scene. For example, many of the manicure businesses on Vanitee’s platform is receiving an above-average booking ticket size of S$78. Vanitee has also given more exposure to the beauty artists by running joint marketing events with Uber, Zalora, Paktor, Reebonz, six out of ten major banks in Singapore, as well as the Jubilee celebrations at the Botanic Gardens, Marina Barrage and Sing50 Concert.

Moving forward, Vanitee looks to strengthen and expand the variety of beauty and wellness services within the app. Significant resources will also be dedicated to market, support and recognise beauty and wellness artists in Singapore.