With the help of Lazada, women entrepreneurs Rizza Lana and Aiai Garcia were able to start their eCommerce businesses.

eCommerce, or online selling, is one of the fastest-growing segments in the internet economy with data indicating that users in the Philippines alone are expected to amount to 60.41 million, while user penetration is at 48.6%, and the industry in itself has a projected market volume of US$29.54 billion (around PHP 1.63 trillion)… all by 2027!

As the leading eCommerce platform in Southeast Asia, Lazada continues to strengthen its efforts in the industry. These include building on its technology and logistics, optimizing operations, and investing in value-added services. Through these efforts, Philippines brands and sellers have optimized and scaled their operations successfully over the past decade since Lazada was founded.

While the brand is known foremost as the country’s top online lifestyle destination, Lazada has always been a strong partner for micro and small medium enterprises (MSMEs) and local sellers who are digitalizing their businesses. In fact, many have found success through Lazada’s infrastructure and programs for its sellers.

Made by Women, for Women

One of the habits that have been built since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic includes shopping online. In fact, a recent study by Lazada showed that 57% of Southeast Asians would check search engines and e-commerce marketplaces to find what they want. And 72% of women dominate the demographic of online shoppers, according to data from Spiralytics.

Just as there are many women shoppers, there are just as many women entrepreneurs who have taken over the e-commerce scene. After all, it takes one to know one, and women know what women want. And Lazada makes it its mission to empower these women sellers.

“This is something that’s very close to our heart,” Lazada Philippines CEO Carlos Barrera shares in an exclusive interview with The Business Manual. “We really want to empower women, and we really want to help everybody become business owners and make it easy for them to grow online.”

“This is particularly amazing for beauty [and] fashion. Some of these categories have very, very high localization, where the local trends really matter. And these entrepreneurs have the pulls of the market and know what to do, how to do it, and can identify new trends,” he adds.

While famous local brands like Sunnies Face, BLK, and Happy Skin owe their success to eCommerce, online businesses that have started from humble beginnings have also grown in leaps and bounds. This includes women-led businesses by Rizza Lana of Lana PH and Aiai Garcia of Nala Woman.

Successful Female Online Sellers

Thanks to Lazada’s strong support and technological strengths, which have helped online sellers and entrepreneurs alike, Rizza Lana and Aiai Garcia have turned their passions into thriving online businesses. These are their stories:

Online Success in Her Many Businesses: Rizza Lana of Lana PH

A skincare enthusiast in her own right, Rizza has always wanted to start her own skincare brand. But even more so, her priority was set on earning a living to pay off her debts. “I used to be a hotelier with zero experience in business,” Rizza reveals.

After working abroad, she returned to Manila, where she pursued a day job and built her first business—Whim Manila. The wallpaper and sticker business soon thrived, leading her to quit her job in order to focus on Whim.

Soon after, she set her sights on another venture, which was built on the pain point she noticed—that there were few skincare products in the market that worked well on Filipina skin. This, coupled with being moved by a film called A Plastic Ocean in 2017, led her to create Lana PH. Through this new business, she finally fulfilled her dream of having her own skincare line, which is mindful and conscious of the environment and tailor-fit for the local audience.

While Rizza initially focused on her own website—pushing her gentle and effective products like their DNA Repair Elixir, Hydrating Rice Toner, and Skin Protect Brightening Sunblock—she eventually decided to set up shop on Lazada. By being onboarded as a Lazada seller, she was able to grow her many brands: skincare line Lana PH; Mink, a skincare brand for women’s intimate areas; Talaala, a customized and sustainable jewelry brand; and Ambush Clothing, a streetwear line.

Aside from being a platform for her multiple businesses, joining Lazada has given Rizza access to a much wider customer base. Moreover, she credits the brand for providing much-needed exposure and promotions, which have helped with her brand equity. And through the help of data-driven seller tools like Business Advisor and Lazada University, Rizza and her team were equipped with optimal business strategies that used advanced data and analytics.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, Rizza has one thing to say: “Do things even if you’re scared. You won’t know what’s on the other side of the fence if you don’t try.”

Sustainable Feminine Care: Aiai Garcia of Nala Woman

Another successful female entrepreneur who has found her footing through Lazada is Aiai of Nala Woman—a local company that offers organic and sustainable feminine care products. This was a problem that the female entrepreneur noticed: that the country lacked feminine care options. She likewise adds that the variety of sanitary pads in supermarkets has not changed since the 70s and that there are very few sustainably-made options available.

“Being on Lazada has helped a new business like ours grow exponentially, especially during the pandemic when online shopping was the new normal for essential goods,” Aiai reveals.

Made without chemicals, Nala Women’s line of feminine care products are clinically tested to be hypoallergenic, thus making them compatible with any skin type. Moreover, the company aims to normalize “taboo” topics about women’s and menstrual health.

And according to Aiai, being on Lazada enables them to promote Nala Woman’s meaningful cause along with their products. “Some of our customers on Lazada have also turned into partners for our Pledge A Pad campaign,” she says. “Together with our donors and partners, our mission is to collect and distribute eco-friendly sanitary napkins every month to schools, orphanages, and women’s shelters around the Philippines.”

How Women Can Succeed in eCommerce

Rizza Lana and Aiai Garcia’s respective success stories are just some of the many good experiences that female entrepreneurs have with Lazada—particularly those in the beauty and fashion industry.

“We’ve had fantastic success stories in beauty—the likes of Sunnies Face, for example. With Jess Wilson, with Bea, with that entire team staying ahead of the curve and coming up with new trends,” Lazada Philippines CEO reveals. “We’ve also had a lot of success stories around fashion. We have Viajecito, [an] amazing bag brand that has been growing so fast with us. Sundals, [too].”

But what are their success secrets? “The common denominator is always, first, very good product understanding and constant innovation,” Carlos shares. “Sundals keeps coming up with new product lines. Viajecito now has more than six different types of bags. They continue to come up with a new collection every quarter.”

According to the CEO, expansion is just as important. “[Beauty brands] are always expanding,” he elaborates. “We have a monthly launch with Happy Skin and every two months, we launch something with Sunnies Face.”

“This is a testament to what it takes to be an entrepreneur—to always be thinking about what’s next [and] what you can do next quarter, in eight months, in 12 months,” he adds.

As for the final key to success, it all boils down to, in Carlos’ words, “really being driven by your success in the long term.”

“They were very encouraged when they saw they were doing well and when they saw their sales,” he marvels. “But instead of settling and becoming complacent, they said, ‘Okay, let’s now go and plan the next year and the next two years.’ And many of these brands are already going international. They’re selling in all our Lazada countries all over Southeast Asia.”

Given the many opportunities and innovations in eCommerce, Lazada has firmly established itself as a go-to online selling platform and business partner for entrepreneurs. By supporting its sellers’ causes, building them up for success, and paving the way for exponential growth, Lazada has built a more dynamic and inclusive marketplace that serves and supports the Filipino community… with a heart.

If you’re considering beginning your journey as a Lazada seller, visit https://lzd.co/PHSSU. Keep posted on the latest updates by following https://www.facebook.com/LazadaPhilippines, https://www.instagram.com/lazadaph/, and https://twitter.com/LazadaPH.