The Tamesis
From quick trade in hot meals to innovative local products, this year’s Asia 30 Under 30: retail and e-commerce entrepreneurs are seizing opportunities presented by changing consumer demands in the region.
timethree former colleagues In April 2024, founders from a struggling cryptocurrency startup got together in a Bangalore cafe to brainstorm ideas for a new venture over sandwiches and coffee. When their order takes too long to arrive, they realize they just stumbled upon it. trio, Aniket Shah, Ujjwal Sukhja and Saran S.invested $32,000 of their savings to build Swish, an app that delivers freshly prepared food in 10 minutes. They started offering the service in July after hiring four chefs and setting up an automated kitchen for fast cooking. A month later, California-based venture capital firm Accel provided $2 million in seed funding for their fledgling startup.
Swish co-founder rides India’s explosive fast-moving business wave and joins this year’s list of entrepreneurs Forbes Asia 30 Under 30: Retail and E-Commerce list.
Swish has since built a network of kitchens, each serving a 1km radius of some dense neighborhoods in Tech City. The restaurant offers a 200-item menu, including Indian, Mexican and Italian cuisine. CEO Shah said daily order volumes had quadrupled in the six months to March to 20,000 a day. He claims some kitchens are already turning a profit. Swish has raised $54 million so far, including $38 million in a Series B round in March led by U.S. firm Bain Capital Ventures and London-based Hara Global Capital that valued Swish at $139 million. Proceeds will be used to expand to other cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai. The founders say the future of food delivery isn’t restaurant takeout, but a quick backup option for home cooks. “In the busyness of everyday life, you can’t schedule your life around waiting for an hour for food,” Shah said.
Another listed Indian company capitalizing on this momentum is Akshay GulatiCo-Founder and CEO slicka Bengaluru-based fast business fashion and lifestyle marketplace. Slikk combines 60-minute delivery with instant refunds, creating a unique try-before-you-buy model that blends speed and convenience. Consumers in Bengaluru can place orders, try on clothes, return their unwanted clothes to waiting couriers and get instant refunds. In May, Slikk raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, bringing total funding to more than $13 million. The funds will be used for further expansion in more cities.
A company that cares about health
As health awareness and spending increase in Asia Pacific, healthcare products and services remain a key focus for the retail startups on the list.
In the Philippines, Kianush Braun and Martin Joaquín Parana co-founded Loki De-stigmatize men’s health issues like erectile dysfunction and hair loss by 2022. Promising confidentiality and convenience, the digital platform claims to have connected more than 30,000 customers with licensed doctors and pharmacies. In October, GoRocky raised $2 million in a funding round led by Singapore-based Integra Partners and local venture capital firm Kaya Founders.
Kate Gartfield Jeffries, co-founder of Moodi.
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Another example is New Zealand Kate Gatfield-Jeffries, She co-founded Moodi in 2022, while still in her final year at the University of Auckland, to fill a gap in the supplement market where products for women focused on beauty rather than health. The Auckland-based company now offers a range of supplements containing vitamins and minerals it claims can help balance hormones. Moodi’s probiotic sparkling water is sold in more than 500 supermarkets nationwide.
In China, Fang Shenbo, Zhao Xuechen and Zhu Xuanrui co-founded regenerative organisms 2021. The company studies health issues associated with aging and uses artificial intelligence to generate formulas that can promote women’s health and hopefully provide anti-aging effects. It mainly sells Laife brand health products in China and Japan. Rogenic Bio has raised $75 million in funding from investors including 5Y Capital, IMO Ventures and K2VC.
And in India, Anurag Danny and Rohit Patel co-founded Arolepa company that sells smart home fitness equipment that can replace traditional weight lifting equipment and save space. It provides wall-mounted devices on a subscription basis to middle-aged and older customers to help them safely maintain muscle mass and build strength. Aroleap also offers an app to help customers follow a daily exercise plan. The startup has raised $3.5 million from investors including Accel, Rainmatter, and Prosus Ventures.
local alternatives
Often, traditional brands miss out on gaps in the market, while the agile entrepreneurs on this list see this as a great opportunity to offer high-quality, targeted products that resonate with local consumers.
2020, partners Lucia Federica Freire Garcia and Zachariah Madden Co-founded men’s jewelry brand Rocks and chains Providing their generation with more fashionable options. Mardon designs each piece from its base in Byron Bay, while former engineer Freire Garcia oversees day-to-day operations. The brand is known for its punk-inspired silver bracelets, carabiners, pendants and signet rings, all of which are handmade in Bali and sold online. Lox and Chain started in the couple’s bedroom and has clients outside Australia in the US and UK
Amy and Esther Tai, co-founders of Machino.
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sister amy and Esther co-founded makinoThe Malaysian footwear brand set out to solve a problem faced by women around the world at the start of the pandemic in 2020: the discomfort often associated with fashionable shoes. Rather than accepting pain as part of fashion, they teamed up with their uncle who ran a shoe factory to create a brand of durable shoes that blended style with comfort. The brand also incorporates specific Asian cultural elements into most of its designs, such as the use of batik, songhi or saree lace. Machino has an online and offline retail model, with stores in Putrajaya and Selangor, Malaysia. In July 2025, Machino was selected to Scale Up Cohort 6 by Endeavor Malaysia.
In India, another pair of sisters, ria and Shreya Mittal, Create a clothing brand kava During the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. Ria was educated in the UK, studying Fashion Management at the University of the Arts London, while Shreya graduated from the University of Warwick Business School. They saw a market in India for high-quality athleisure and loungewear. Emphasizing comfort, durability and versatility, CAVA uses Better Cotton Initiative certified cotton and recycled polyester. CAVA, which targets Gen Z and Millennials, raised $4.5 million in Series A funding led by Sharp Ventures in January this year, following a $1.14 million seed round in 2024.
Read our full Retail and e-commerce list here – And be sure to check out our full content Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 2026 Coverage here.
