Startup Share Treats has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Bon Angels and K Bridge Investment.
Share Treats is a digital coupon service aimed South East Asia that lets users purchase and gift services or products via ‘gifticons’ through their smartphones. Convenience store and fast food items have proved most popular, as well as movie tickets and even haircuts. Prices are localized and range from 500 won to 5000 won.
The platform allows users to send personalized messages and stickers with their gifts. It’s part of the startup’s goal to create a more casual gift-giving culture while taking away the convenience of having to go and buy something physically.
Share Treats’ main strength is its billing system. The platform was the first gifticon transaction service in the Philippines and the company partnered with local mobile carriers to make it easy for anyone to make purchases. Many countries in South East Asia have a credit card and bank account usage rate of under 20%, while ecommerce and online transactions are only used by a small part of the population. As a result, the market hasn’t been able to live up to its great market growth potential. With over 10 years’ experience in the region, Share Treats has been working hard to localize payment systems.
“Share Treats’ vision is to create a culture where anyone from all walks of life in South East Asia can exchange gifts,” says CEO Lee Hong-bae. “Going forward, we plan to increase our lifestyle categories and are preparing to enter Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam markets.”
