Singapore-based DTC Startup Evo raises US$ 600K in seed funding led by East Ventures

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) startup Evo, announces the completion of its US$ 600,000 seed funding round led by East Ventures, with notable angel investors Aaron Tan from Carro, Joel Leong from ShopBack, Mohandass from Spenmo, and Jonathan Tan from Prism+.

East Ventures is one of the first and largest multi stage venture capital firms in Southeast Asia, with notable investments in multiple unicorns like Tokopedia, Traveloka, Carro, Xendit, Shopback, Mercari, and many others.

The funds raised will be channelled to expanding the brand’s product offerings and doubling down on research and development of new product categories to explore new distribution channels in the DTC sector. 

Founded in 2020 by former Grab Executives Roy Ang (Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer) and Teoh Ming Hao (Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer), Evo is a Direct-to-Consumer health and wellness brand that offers quality supplements and hair products. The brand has over eight different products to its name, including its flagship product BounceBack, a livercare and anti-hangover supplement. Pivoting from live commerce software to DTC, the company has seen 700% growth in the last five months and is now operating in 10 markets globally. 

“We believe that COVID-19 has drastically sped up e-commerce purchase patterns globally. We aim to be the new age digital native brand that serves customers within the health and wellness category, with better branding, better product content and more affordable pricing by removing the middleman in the mix,” said Roy Ang, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Evo. 

Besides its flagship product Bounceback, the team also runs their anti-hair loss brand mantou and they are also launching other supplement categories to tackle sleep, hair health and immunity supplements under the stryv brand.

Evo’s co-founders were part of the early team members within Grab Financial Group, where they built GrabPay and other payment products regionally. Before Grab, Roy and Ming Hao both held management positions within e27 and Tech in Asia. 

The homegrown company broke even in June this year, and is aiming to hit 8-digit annualized revenue by the end of the year. Moreover, Evo is looking to raise another US$ 500,000 in Q3 of 2022. 

“We have witnessed Evo’s adeptness and stealth in adapting to the evolving customers’ needs within the health and beauty sector. We believe that the funding will help Evo to further expand their presence regionally and continue to provide the best products that cater to customers’ needs,” said Devina Halim, Principal at East Ventures.