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The coronavirus pandemic accelerated growth in the eCommerce space.
In fact, in 2023 alone, global eCommerce online sales reached $5.8T.
And this growth does not seem to be slowing down. The global eCommerce market is expected to reach $8.0T in sales in 2027.
Nearly everything, from authentic Chinese food to cars to cannabis, can be purchased online.
These 45 eCommerce startups show the vast range of companies that can flourish in this space.
1. Vevor
5-year search growth: 4,900%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2007
Location: Taicang, China
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Vevor is an ecommerce platform that specializes in selling industrial equipment and tools for businesses and individuals. They offer a wide range of products, from kitchen appliances to woodworking machinery, at competitive prices. The platform is designed to be user-friendly and features a secure payment system, fast shipping, and excellent customer service.
2. Neeman’s
5-year search growth: 1,500%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2018
Location: Hyderabad, India
Funding: $9.8M (Series B)
What they do: Neeman’s is a DTC footwear startup. The company sells shoes made from natural fibers, a material that makes the shoes “breathable, moisture-wicking, flexible, lightweight and odor resistant.” The $26M-valued startup recently reported a 47% YOY increase in FY23 revenue.
3. OnBuy
5-year search growth: 2,133%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2016
Location: Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Funding: $35.5M (Series A)
What they do: OnBuy is an online eCommerce marketplace founded in 2016. The company offers safe transactions, competitive prices, and a wide range of products, and claims to prioritize the success of its buyers and merchants by abstaining from any kind of selling themselves. The platform brought in £35M in a Series A funding round in mid-2021. In November 2023, the startup was ranked 11th in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for the third consecutive year.
4. Leaflink
5-year search growth: 41%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $479M (Series D)
What they do: LeafLink is a wholesale cannabis eCommerce startup aimed at servicing B2B retail customers. Their eCommerce marketplace, which they say has over 30% wholesale cannabis market coverage in the U.S., helps retailers and brands alike streamline their operations. In early 2023, LeafLink announced a $100M funding round led by CPMG, L2 Ventures, and Nosara Capital.
5. Jungle Scout
5-year search growth: -9%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: Austin, Texas
Funding: $110M (Private Equity)
What they do: Jungle Scout is an eCommerce platform that helps entrepreneurs leverage Amazon to sell products. Their platform offers customers solutions to manage inventory, conduct product research, find suppliers, and more. Though the company is mainly Amazon-centric now, they are eyeing expansion to cover solutions for other online retail platforms, such as Walmart.com.
6. Klarna
5-year search growth: 135%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2005
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Funding: $4.5B (Undisclosed)
What they do: Klarna’s payment software allows online sellers to give their buyers the option of paying in installments. In September 2020, Klarna became Europe’s most valuable fintech unicorn. Most recently in mid-2022, the Swedish startup raised $800 million at a $6.7B valuation. The startup is also in talks with various US banks about a $20 billion IPO.
7. Lunya
5-year search growth: 35%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2014
Location: Santa Monica, California
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Lunya makes modern sleepwear and loungewear for a female target audience. The company, which has grown to $25M in annual revenue, was founded by entrepreneur Ashley Merrill after noticing how few appropriate sleep options were available for women. In addition to being the current CEO of Lunya and its brother brand Lahgo, Merrill serves as the board chairperson of the activewear company Outdoor Voices.
8. Snackpass
5-year search growth: 162%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2017
Location: San Francisco, California
Funding: $95.6M (Series B)
What they do: Snackpass is an online food ordering platform with an emphasis on pickup orders. The startup first saw success at its founders’ university, Yale, when they captured 80% of the institution as customers shortly after launch. Snackpass, which closed a Series B funding round amounting to $70M in mid-2021, now operates in 13 college town markets and serves around half a million customers.
9. Hawkers
5-year search growth: -17%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2013
Location: Alicante, Spain
Funding: $73.9M (Corporate Round)
What they do: Hawkers is an eCommerce sunglasses brand founded in Spain by startup Saldum Ventures. Pitting itself against competitors like Oakley and Ray-Ban, the company relies on social media, word-of-mouth, and celebrity collaboration as its primary forms of marketing and promotion. Alejandro Betancourt, an early investor of the company and owner of investment management group O’Hara, invested an additional $23M in 2018 and gained greater control of the company.
10. Scalapay
5-year search growth: 7,400%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2018
Location: Milan, Italy
Funding: $727.4M (Series B)
What they do: Scalapay is a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) eCommerce software. Online sellers can install Scalapay in their stores so buyers have the option to pay in 3 or 4 interest-free installments instead of all at once when making a purchase. In October 2023, Scalapay announced a partnership with Marqeta to expand into Europe.
11. Commonry
5-year search growth: 7,600%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2009
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Commonry is a women’s fashion brand that sells clothes in sizes 8–22. Their goal is to create fashion items that fit any body type. Commonry was founded by The Brandbank Group, one of the largest fashion retailers in Australia.
12. Nykaa
5-year search growth: 45%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2012
Location: Mumbai, India
Funding: $215.4M (Post-IPO Secondary)
What they do: Nykaa is a Mumbai-based online beauty startup. The company provides millions of customers with a budget for high-end beauty and wellness products, a beauty community and helpline, and more. In March 2021, Inc42 reported that Nykaa aims to go public by 2022.
13. Licious
5-year search growth: 7%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2015
Location: Bengaluru, India
Funding: $488.7M (Series F)
What they do: Licious is a Bengaluru-based food delivery startup focused on providing quality meat and seafood to an Indian market. In July 2021, Licious raised nearly $200M with plans to grow their business internationally. Temasek, a Singaporean investment company with investments in financial services, transportation, and other industries, and Multiples Private Equity, which has invested in healthcare, AI, and financial services companies, led the latest round.
14. Livspace
5-year search growth: 97%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2014
Location: Bengaluru, India
Funding: $431.6M (Series F)
What they do: Livspace is a home improvement eCommerce startup that helps customers design spaces, purchase products, and coordinate installation for interiors projects. The company, co-founded by a Google executive, raised $90M in 2020 from Kharis Capital, Goldman Sachs, and others. In March 2020, they announced $200M in revenue and have plans to more than double that number by 2022.
15. Loopi
5-year search growth: 54%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2021
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Funding: $5M (Seed)
What they do: Loopi is a shoppable, video eCommerce platform founded in Brazil. The mobile app allows content creators to make money off of their content and brands to promote their products in a new, engaging way. The TikTok-reminiscent platform was founded in 2021 and has already brought in $5M in a seed round of funding.
16. Deliverr
5-year search growth: -21%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2017
Location: San Francisco, California
Funding: $490.9M (Series E)
What they do: Deliverr is an eCommerce startup that helps companies of all sizes compete with the lightning-fast delivery timelines of popular marketplaces, such as Amazon. They accomplish this through a streamlined fulfillment system built and managed by industry veterans. The company, which saw 6x YoY growth in customer orders in 2020, brought in a whopping $170M in spring 2021.
17. Your Super
5-year search growth: 35%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: Venice, California
Funding: $11.5M (Series Unknown)
What they do: Your Super is an eCommerce health and wellness startup that sells superfood and protein products in powdered and bar form. The company was founded by Kristel de Groot and Michael Kuech. Following Kuech’s battle with cancer, he discovered the energy and health benefits of using de Groot’s DIY superfood mixes. The company is backed by several firms in the healthy food space, such as PowerPlant Ventures, which has also invested in Thrive Market and Beyond Meat, and Clif White Road, run by the owners of Clif Bar.
18. Winc
5-year search growth: -28%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2011
Location: Los Angeles, California
Funding: $54.2M (Equity Crowdfunding)
What they do: Winc is an eCommerce wine delivery startup that uses data to create new wine blends. The DTC brand has raised funds through venture capital firms and a crowdfunding campaign, Winc Shares. That initiative wrapped up in early 2020 and raised over $7M. In 2021, Winc acquired the wine importer Natural Merchants. In January 2023, Amass Brands Group acquired Winc.
19. Rohlik
5-year search growth: 96%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2014
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Funding: $613.1M (Series D)
What they do: Rohlik is a European grocery delivery startup. The company’s differentiators include their vast online stock and delivery in a matter of hours. In mid-2021, the Czech company raised $119M and received “unicorn” status with a valuation of $1.2B. With the injection of funds, they plan to expand across Europe into Germany, France, Spain, and other countries.
20. Refundid
5-year search growth: 1,100%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2020
Location: Sydney, Australia
Funding: $14.2M (Seed)
What they do: Refundid is a third-party fintech provider that instantly processes refunds on eCommerce purchases. After a customer processes a return, the startup pays the customer’s refund directly for a small fee. The company claims that retailers who use Refundid in their online stores see a 90% increase in repurchases and a 43% increase in repurchase AOV.
21. Chupps
5-year search growth: 66%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2017
Location: Mumbai, India
Funding: $2.5M (Seed)
What they do: Chupps is a DTC footwear brand that sells flip-flops. The flip-flops are made from natural rubber, which makes them breathable, odor-free, slip-proof, and lightweight. The company donates a percentage of their entire sales to charities as part of their social impact initiative.
22. Sabi
5-year search growth: 52%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2020
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Funding: $66M (Series B)
What they do: Sabi is a B2B marketplace designed for the African informal economy. The startup provides the following solutions: digital ledgers for cash management, B2B commerce interfaces, and group buying and fulfillment services. After the company’s latest Series B funding round in May 2023, their valuation grew to $300 million. Today, the company has over 300,000 merchants using its service and more than $1 billion annualized GMV.
23. Entrio
5-year search growth: 177%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2011
Location: Zagreb, Croatia
Funding: $430K (Seed)
What they do: The smart ticketing market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 15.5% through 2030. And startups like Entrio are trying to capitalize on this opportunity by offering a ticketing marketplace solution. Basically, the startup provides an eCommerce platform that enables event organizers to sell event tickets online. The Zagreb-based company saw a 95.16% YoY growth in revenue during 2021.
24. Cazoo
5-year search growth: 2,400%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2018
Location: London, England
Funding: $2.2B (Post-IPO Debt)
What they do: Cazoo is an online alternative for used car buying with a rigorous vehicle inspection process and home delivery. The U.K-based eCommerce startup raised over $400M in less than a year over two 2020 funding rounds. In October of 2020, the company also shared that its valuation had hit more than $2.5B. Backers of the digital car sales platform include L Catterton, whose portfolio includes Bliss and Hanna Anderson, and dmg ventures, who has backed other eCommerce companies, including Zilch and Farewill.
25. HungryPanda
5-year search growth: 20%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2016
Location: London, England
Funding: $220M (Series D)
What they do: HungryPanda is a food delivery startup focused on Chinese cuisine and groceries. Their main target audience is roughly 50M Chinese people and students living abroad. The company raised $70M in late 2020, bringing their total 2020 (and all-time) funding to $90M. They aim to use the funds to expand their app into even more locations.
26. Matternet
5-year search growth: -87%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2011
Location: Mountain View, California
Funding: $74M (Series B)
What they do: Drone deliveries are estimated to be approximately 90% cheaper than car deliveries. This, combined with the fact that drones are more eco-friendly than cars, explains why interest in this technology is increasing. Matternet, one of the leaders in this space, provides a drone-based on-demand delivery system. While the company currently delivers only medical items, it hopes to build a drone network that can be utilized by various eCommerce players.
27. SuperApp
5-year search growth: 483%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2016
Location: Surabaya, Indonesia
Funding: $105M (Series C)
What they do: SuperApp is a social commerce platform. Specifically, the startup provides an eCommerce platform that uses a network of delivery agents to serve small towns across Indonesia. SuperApp serves 30 cities and primarily targets the smaller and rural towns of those cities.
28. TomboyX
5-year search growth: 0%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2012
Location: Seattle, Washington
Funding: $24.3M (Series B)
What they do: TomboyX is a DTC underwear brand. The company’s selling point is that it provides inclusive gender-neutral apparel. The company, now valued at approximately $45M, more than doubled their valuation in their Series B funding round.
29. Brass Roots
5-year search growth: -25%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2016
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Funding: $1.1M (Series A)
What they do: Brass Roots makes healthy food snacks. The company’s goal is “to provide a delicious snack that does not compromise on health.” They do this by producing their snacks using the Sacha Inchi seed, which is a high-protein and allergen-friendly seed. In addition to their online store, Brass Roots’ snacks can also be purchased at major chains like Whole Foods, Wegmans and Sprouts.
30. Clubbi
5-year search growth: 26%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2020
Location: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Funding: $17.1M (Series A)
What they do: Clubbi is a B2B platform that allows small food retailers to order their inventory online. The platform, serving around 3,000 stores, is growing at approximately 40% MoM. The platform carries over 8,000 SKUs that are delivered within 24 hours of ordering.
31. HALO Hydration
5-year search growth: 4,200%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2017
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $1.5M (Series Unknown)
What they do: HALO Hydration produces organic beverages that are low in sugar and calories. The company wants to capitalize on an increasingly growing demand for low calorie drinks. HALO’s main marketing strategy is using athletes as brand ambassadors (it now has around 30 brand ambassadors, with tennis star Andy Murrey being one of the more famous ones). And this strategy seems to be working considering that the startup saw a 32% YoY growth in revenue in 2021.
32. Hungryroot
5-year search growth: 200%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $75.4M (Series C)
What they do: The personalized nutrition market is estimated to grow 2x in the next four years. And startups like Hungryroot are bringing eCommerce to this market. The startup uses AI-powered algorithms to provide personalized recipes that people can order online via the platform. Hungryroot’s sales saw a 150% growth in 2021 when it hit $175M in revenue.
33. Lalo
5-year search growth: 47%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2017
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $15.7M (Series A)
What they do: Lalo is a manufacturer of baby products. They’re mostly known for their baby chairs and strollers. Lalo takes pride in the fact that they are the go-to baby brand for celebrities like Blake Lively and Khloe Kardashian, which according to the company, speaks to the quality of their products.
34. Lively Root
5-year search growth: 4,800%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2020
Location: San Diego, California
Funding: $5.1M (Seed)
What they do: Lively Root is an online horticulture lifestyle brand. Basically, this means that the startup allows people to purchase a variety of plants online. So, what makes this company unique from similar startups? Well, Lively Root “guarantees the healthiest and happiest plants that are hand-selected.” And the fact that the company has been growing at approximately 150% every year shows that customers like this guarantee.
35. Mable
5-year search growth: 22%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2019
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Funding: $17.6M (Series Unknown)
What they do: Mable serves as a marketplace connecting three levels of players in the grocery industry: regional distributors, emerging brands and independent grocers. Grocery store owners can use this platform to shop wholesale from thousands of brands. Fun fact: the $30.5M-valued startup was started by a former grocery store owner who was frustrated at how difficult it was to find up-and-coming brands and keep shelves stocked.
36. Kazidomi
5-year search growth: -45%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2016
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Funding: $2.8M (Seed)
What they do: Kazidomi is a health food e-commerce retailer with a membership model. Currently only available in Europe, member’s pay €80-€120 per year to unlock discounts on the site. Kazidomi’s catalog currently includes over 3K products, from food to cleaning supplies. According to Kazidomi’s Head of Growth, the startup recently hit a €1M monthly revenue milestone.
37. Zentail
5-year search growth: -63%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2011
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Funding: $5M (Series A)
What they do: Zentail has developed a listing automation platform that allows eCommerce shops to automatically list their products on all the major online shopping websites (Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Shopify, Walmart, and more). The Maryland-based startup claims that companies using their platform increase sales by approximately 3x.
38. Adun
5-year search growth: 35%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2016
Location: Houston, Texas
Funding: $400K (Equity Crowdfunding)
What they do: Adun (formerly All I Do Is Cook) is an online food delivery platform. What makes the startup unique is that they cook and deliver frozen ready-to-eat African dishes. Adun has shipped 26,000 meals since 2019 and bootstrapped its way to $1.5M in revenue.
39. Dotpe
5-year search growth: 6,400%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2021
Location: Gurgaon, India
Funding: $90M (Series B)
What they do: Dotpe helps brick-and-mortar stores across India launch online stores. In addition to providing eCommerce store templates, Dotpe also provides an online payment system to make it easier for these stores to collect payments. The company’s solution is one of the ways startups in India are looking to capitalize on the booming eCommerce sector in this country (this market is forecasted to grow to $400B by 2030).
40. House of Puff
5-year search growth: 260%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2018
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $130K (Seed)
What they do: House of Puff sells cannabis accessories and products. The startup adds an artsy feel to these products by painting them in unique colors or by manufacturing them in uncommon shapes. House of Puff sells 27 core SKUs.
41. Junoco
5-year search growth: 3,400%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2016
Location: Burlingame, California
Funding: $6.3M (Series A)
What they do: Junoco is a sustainable skincare and beauty brand. Their products are made without microplastics and, when possible, from upcycled ingredients. Junoco’s flagship product, a ten ingredient cleansing balm, has sold more than 500,000 units. The startup plans to use their Series A money to develop new SKUs that contain ten or fewer ingredients.
42. Shopstar
5-year search growth: 6,500%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2013
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Funding: $100K (Series Unknown)
What they do: Shopstar is a SaaS solution that enables Africa-based SMBs to set up mobile-friendly online stores with a drag-and-drop interface.Shopstar also provides an AI-powered assistant that automatically writes product descriptions in seconds.
43. Astro
5-year search growth: 14%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2021
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Funding: $91.6M (Series B)
What they do: Astro is an on-demand grocery delivery startup operating in Indonesia. The most impressive thing about this startup is that they claim to make deliveries in 15 minutes. Therefore, people can order any of the 1,000+ products Astro carries and they will have that product in a quarter of an hour. Astro has seen explosive growth which is best illustrated by the fact that it raised a total of $90M only nine months after it was launched.
44. Envoy Technology
5-year search growth: 1,700%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2020
Location: London, England
Funding: $860K (Pre-seed)
What they do: Envoy Technology is a content marketing platform designed to increase sales for online stores. The startup uses augmented reality videos to grow user engagement and thus, drive revenue growth. The service is still in the testing phase and interested customers can join a newsletter to stay updated with launch information.
45. Purplle
5-year search growth: 250%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2012
Location: Mumbai, India
Funding: $296.3M (Secondary Market)
What they do: Purplle is an Indian online beauty products marketplace. The platform lets people shop for products from over 1,000 brands. Valued at $1.1B, Purplle secured a $40-50 million funding round in May 2023 after reporting a 72% YoY increase in revenue to $26,3 million.
Conclusion
Since its creation, the Internet has upended multiple industries and allowed many businesses to thrive in an online space.
This list of 45 startups is evidence of the diversity in the eCommerce vertical.
Out of this list of disparate companies, one trend that surfaces is food and beverage delivery. But there’s also a growing number of startups designed to support existing eCommerce businesses (like Klarna and Scalapay). Which looks to be an interesting space to keep an eye on.
