Valoreo, a Mexican startup that accelerates retail brands with an emphasis on e-commerce, has secured $80 million in a round led by private equity firm L Catterton. Just over a year old, Valoreo has already raised $80 million in Seed and Series A rounds, from major investors such as Kaszek, Upper90, Presight Capital, Kingsway Capital and FJ Labs.
Valoreo’s fast growth has to do with the booming Latin American e-commerce market, which is expected to grow 30% a year until 2025 according to the Beyond Borders 2021/2022 report, and also with the surge of the so-called “brand aggregators”, business model of Valoreo, the Mexican Wonder Brands and the Brazilian Merama, which reached unicorn status within a year.
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Founded in 2020 by Martin and Stefan Florea, Alexander Gruell, Cedrik Hoffmann and Miguel Oehling, Valoreo presents itself as a “next-generation” e-commerce holding company: the startup acquires, operates and scales brands with e-commerce growth potential.
Unlike other aggregators, Valoreo does not acquire the majority shares of brands, but all of them. By bringing a new brand into the portfolio, the startup kicks in some growth drivers to boost the aggregate, which includes access to technology, marketing, supply chain, and logistics. “Using our financial and operational resources, we are able to create value for these digital brands and transform them into leading brands in Latin America,” Stefan said.
Valoreo currently has operations in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, and has already acquired 25 local brands in categories such as Beauty & Personal Care, Kids, Fitness, and Home Decor & Furniture, which sell on platforms such as Mercado Libre and Amazon. In addition to acquiring, Valoreo also plans to create its own brands from scratch.
Like its rival Merama, Valoreo’s business is based on scale – which explains the volume of rounds raised by the two startups in a short period, as they need capital to bring more brands into the portfolio. So Valoreo will invest the funds to expand the brand portfolio, improve the platform, and drive the expansion of the brands into other markets.
According to the co-founders, from the beginning the startup’s focus has been on connecting consumers to quality products at affordable prices; now, with the support of the new investment, the company plans to go a step further and invest in e-commerce solutions as well.
“Not only will we continue to add quality brands, but we will give our consumers the best shopping experience through an innovative tech platform. We are excited to take this next step so that we can add even more value for entrepreneurs and consumers in the regions we serve,” they said.
