Webuy Snaps Up Group Buying Rival Chilibeli

Social eCommerce startup Webuy acquired its biggest rival, community group buying platform Chilibeli, for undisclosed terms, Asia Tech Daily reported on Tuesday (March 15). Both firms generate savings for buyers and income for group leaders by using a social group buying model that optimizes the supply chain.

Webuy has a strong global supply chain that will generate cooperation for the grocery group buy market in Indonesia. Chilibeli’s 10,000 group leaders will be able to tap Webuy’s in-app chat and short video tools along with other tech solutions that will help facilitate community sales and boost order size and volume.

Launched in 2018 by Jenny Chen and Vincent Xue Bin, and headquartered in Singapore, Webuy also works across Malaysia and Indonesia. The startup offers a group buying model for food and beverages through its platform. Its model was developed to imitate the interactions of  social media influencers with the goal of driving the visibility of small merchants, Webuy said when it raised $6 million in a Series A funding round in 2020, Business Times reported at the time.

Xue Bin said that the strategic acquisition of Chilibeli comes at the perfect time, as Webuy is expanding its business across Indonesia.

“Chilibeli’s current resources of group leaders, warehousing and staff are synergistic to our business, allowing us to serve APP with a stronger presence and benefit more people. With our strength in the global supply chain, technology and product features, we will become the leading social eCommerce startup in Southeast Asia,” Xue Bin said.

Indonesia’s largest community group-buying platform, Chilibeli was launched in 2019 by Alex Feng, Damon Yue, and Matt Li. Its customer-to-manufacturer business concept links farmers and consumers in numerous communities, ensuring logistics efficiency and product freshness.