[Next K-Startup] Homnai Provides Solutions to Create 'K-Hit Products' in Southeast Asia

Expanding to Singapore, Thailand Based on Vietnam Experience
Emphasizing the Importance of Building and Maintaining 'Brand'
Forming Local Teams Comprising Lawyers, Accountants, and More

Editor's NoteMore than 430 startups applied for the 2nd program of Next Elevation, a startup accelerator established by Asia Economy. This is more than three times the number of companies that applied for last year's inaugural acceleration program. Among them, six startups were finally selected. These startups, which overcame a competition rate of 71 to 1, are currently honing their innovations. In preparation for the demo day to be held next month, each company is working on business advancement tasks such as setting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and establishing product strategies with customized mentors. We visited the scene.

Amid the spread of the Korean Wave, so-called 'K-products' are gaining increasing interest from consumers in Southeast Asia. Various Korean brands hope to enter the local market, but time and cost risks arise before generating their first sales. Homnai is a distribution platform startup that solves these problems in Vietnam. Based in Vietnam, it provides Southeast Asian consumers with a ‘trustworthy’ purchasing channel and offers domestic companies a ‘one-stop solution’ including logistics, marketing, branding, and distribution, connecting both sides.

Next Elevation CEO Jo Dong-sun is being interviewed by Asia Economy at the Pangyo office. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

On the 10th, Dongseon Jo, CEO of Homnai, said, “The goal of companies is not just to enter overseas markets but to settle in the market so that the brand grows and sales and profits occur,” adding, “Small and medium-sized enterprises find it difficult to bear the costs of maintaining overseas residents and local employees, so we do it on their behalf.” Homnai, which means ‘today,’ focuses mainly on lifestyle-related products such as living and baby items.

What Homnai values most is building and maintaining brands. CEO Jo explained, “It is difficult to guarantee that all Korean products sold locally have no issues, but when problems arise, we communicate quickly with sellers to proceed with product exchanges,” adding, “Because Koreans and locals work as one team to provide prompt responses, the brand image improves.”

Homnai sells K-products through its own platform while also having an online-to-offline (O2O) system. For example, it collaborates with local supermarkets to sell products. CEO Jo said, “We are continuously expanding our partners so that K-products can be sold through diversified distribution channels,” adding, “I visit hot places every day to find locations where products are likely to sell.”

In Vietnam, Homnai’s team includes lawyers, accountants, and former team leaders from large corporations who oversee legal affairs, marketing, and accounting. These are connections CEO Jo made while living in Vietnam for five years as a corporate resident. They even filter out counterfeit products locally. Even slight changes in price tag designs prompt inquiries to the company. CEO Jo explained, “Our partners only handle genuine products, so the perception of ‘Homnai = genuine product sales’ is established,” adding, “We are striving to create a healthy business environment.”

Next Elevation CEO Jo Dong-seon is being interviewed by Asia Economy at the Pangyo office. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

Homnai has recently been paying attention to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) marketing. It connects leftover seasonal K-products that are difficult to sell with local donations in Vietnam. CEO Jo said, “From a company’s perspective, it reduces inventory storage costs, and local orphanages and others can use high-quality products, creating a win-win situation,” adding, “As a startup, it is not easy, but we want to continue doing what we can, including bearing logistics costs.”

This year, Homnai has set a goal to expand into other Southeast Asian countries beyond Vietnam. The next target is Singapore, followed by plans to expand to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and others. They plan to apply the strategies gained in the Vietnamese market to other countries one by one. CEO Jo emphasized, “I believe the basic lifestyle of Southeast Asian consumers is similar,” adding, “We will apply the data accumulated in Vietnam to other countries and spread this success to them as well.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.