Vely Monkeys, the operator of the K-beauty commerce platform ‘Maccaron‘ in the Indian market, has secured 12.5 billion KRW (approximately $9.6 million USD) in Series B funding. The investment round was led by Laguna Investment, with participation from Quad Ventures, Company K Partners, and Smilegate Investment.

Since 2019, Vely Monkeys has developed and operated a retail platform to facilitate the entry of Korean cosmetics into the Indian market. Through its proprietary platform Maccaron, the company offers a one-stop service for Korean beauty brands, covering everything from market entry and distribution to sales and marketing in India.

Maccaron features over 380 Korean brands and provides a community where users can share makeup tips and skincare routines. The platform also offers a testing program, allowing users to experience the latest trending products from Korea, driving both sales growth and customer retention.

Launched in July 2019, Maccaron released its mobile commerce app in January 2021, surpassing 750,000 cumulative subscribers and 700,000 monthly active users. The company achieved its first monthly profit in October 2022 and has been growing threefold annually. In the first half of this year alone, it has already exceeded its total revenue for 2023, maintaining a steep growth trajectory.

With this new funding, Vely Monkeys plans to introduce more Korean beauty brands to the Indian market and provide services that make it easier for these brands to enter the market.

The company has completed over 60 rigorous Indian cosmetics certifications (CDSCO) and developed an in-house system that reduces the certification acquisition time from over six months to just 1.5 months. As a result, Vely Monkeys has secured contracts with over 60 K-beauty brands, becoming a key distribution partner for exporting and distributing these brands in India.

Yoo Seung-wan, CEO of Vely Monkeys, stated, “The middle-class income in India’s vast consumer market of 1.3 billion people is rapidly increasing. We aim to build a business model that makes it even easier for Korean brands to enter the Indian market.”