Why We Invested: Morado
The Untapped Potential of Latin America’s Beauty Industry
In Latin America, the beauty salon industry is a major player in the customer service sector, boasting over 700,000 salons and a million beauty-related businesses. Countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia demonstrate high demand, with the latter having one salon for every 800 people. However, the industry's supply chain has seen little innovation in over four decades, with a staggering 85% of salons yet to adopt digital tools, resulting in structural inefficiencies and constraints.
Newcomers in the beauty industry face challenges in establishing relationships with major beauty brands, critical for sourcing products directly from manufacturers. This is a key factor in enhancing profitability, as relying on distributors at B2C prices could severely impact margins. Moreover, acquiring both buyers and sellers is an arduous and costly process, highlighting the need for a comprehensive value proposition.
Revolutionizing Beauty Commerce: Morado's Approach
Morado is revolutionizing the beauty industry with a B2B marketplace offering one of the largest portfolios of beauty products in Latin America. Their core solution provides the convenience of no minimum order value, wholesale pricing, and next-day or express deliveries. To further enhance the user experience, Morado is continually innovating and plans to introduce features like self-onboarding, real-time order tracking, and a mobile app.
Morado also offers Morado Academy, an educational platform that provides beauty businesses access to top-tier content. This initiative aligns with Morado's broader vision of empowering women in the industry.
Morado has made significant strides in a short span of time, gaining recognition as one of the top startups in Colombia. Their strategic advantage lies in their vision to become a holistic solution for beauty businesses, offering embedded finance, loyalty programs, private label solutions, and data insights. This diversified approach sets them apart from competitors.
The Power Behind Morado: Meet the Founding Team
Angela Acosta, Morado's Founder & CEO, is a dynamic and determined entrepreneur known for her magnetic personality and relentless work ethic, with extensive experience in hyper-growth fintech and retail projects at Rappi. Her passion for disrupting traditional business models is evident. Furthermore, Angela demonstrates a high level of passion, commitment, and industry knowledge. Her leadership skills and ability to attract top talent are key strengths that position Morado for success.
The early founding and leadership team includes former employees of high-growth startups and blue-chip companies. Juan Carlos Martinez, also from Rappi, brings expertise in commercial leadership and digital marketing to the team. Sebastian Bojanini, with a background in finance and banking, adds valuable experience in the beauty industry. Maria Camila Jimenez, previously a Key Account Manager at Rappi, brings a deep understanding of the retail sector with a digital focus. The team currently consists of around 100 employees, with plans to optimize their economics with a new finance team and advisors to propel Morado to the next level.
Morado’s & FEMSA’s Strategic Synergy
As FEMSA engages with Morado in the pursuit of digitalizing a new market sector and industry, several learning opportunities and invaluable insights await. Delving into innovative strategies, cutting-edge technologies, market penetration techniques, and evolving consumer behavior trends, as well as exploring dynamic collaboration and partnership models, promises to significantly enhance FEMSA's approach to digitalization.
The startup's deep understanding of the B2B beauty industry, combined with their demonstrated success, provides FEMSA with critical market insights. Additionally, Morado's evolving business model holds the promise of future relevance to FEMSA, opening avenues for cross-functional collaboration and shared learnings that could inform and enhance FEMSA's strategies in adjacent sectors.
On the other hand, FEMSA brings a wealth of experience in supply chain management, operational efficiency, road-to-market strategies, revenue and category management, and successful loyalty programs, all of which can greatly enhance Morado's growth trajectory.
Morado's ambitious vision to digitize and revolutionize the beauty industry in Latin America is backed by a robust business model and a dedicated team. Their innovative approach, combined with a clear understanding of market challenges and opportunities, positions them as a frontrunner in the industry.
We are excited to be joining Morado in its journey to revolutionize the beauty industry in Latin America!