YASO

YASO enables brands (including Nip+Fab, Cowshed, Faith in Nature) to enter and scale within China’s fast-growing and complex social commerce market. Leveraging an end-to-end operating system and proprietary analytics dashboard, YASO empowers brands to sell directly on platforms like Douyin (TikTok China), RED, and Tmall.

Our investment in YASO was underpinned by the large market opportunity presented by the Chinese consumer market. China’s $1.7 trillion ecommerce market is the largest in the world and has grown rapidly following the social commerce revolution (Douyin’s, China’s Tik Tok, GMV grew from $0 GMV in 2019 to almost half a trillion in 2024).

YASO’s value proposition and moat is strong. Entry into the Chinese market is difficult and complex, meaning the largest consumer market is out of reach for most foreign brands. YASO eliminates these barriers to entry and allows global brands to capitalise on this missed opportunity. Co-founded by Jonny Plein, Dr Adam Knight and James Campbell we believe YASO have a world class team which can lead the business to success. All three founders have mandarin fluency, deep Chinese commerce expertise and a track record of scaling businesses.

The product has helped consumer brands, such as Pixi Beauty, Nip + Fab and Faith in Nature, generate millions in revenue and with this funding YASO will be able to accelerate brand onboarding, scale sales and marketing and invest in technology.