Singapore – The Parentinc, a regional parent-tech company, has announced the acquisition of Motherswork, a premium retailer of mum, baby, and kids’ products in Singapore. Through this acquisition, The Parentinc aims to make a significant shift in the landscape of the parenting retail industry in Southeast Asia.

Moreover, this acquisition comes on the heels of recent high-profile IPOs from mother and baby brands such as First Cry and Mamaearth, setting a compelling precedent for The Parentinc’s ascent into the ranks of these notable companies. 

Motherswork stood as a premier omni-channel retailer specialising in premium mother, baby, and kids’ products with two stores in Singapore and 10 in China. Since launching in 1998, Motherswork has offered customers in every stage of parenthood a curated selection of over 300 esteemed brands, with the exclusive distribution of 20 brands including Avent, Joolz and Stokke. 

This acquisition of Motherswork signifies a pivotal moment for The Parentinc as it positions itself firmly on the trajectory towards an initial public offering by bolstering its commitment to building a self-sustaining content, community, and commerce ecosystem for parents in SEA. 

While The Parentinc has established significant success online, Motherswork will play a pivotal role in expanding the company’s offline presence by opening up more Motherswork stores in key markets in the region, including Vietnam, where Mama’s Choice will be distributed exclusively by Motherswork. 

Roshni Mahtani Cheung, group CEO and founder of The Parentinc, shares her enthusiasm about the acquisition, stating, “While we have done a dramatic job of capturing the hearts and minds of the online market, 70% of retail in SEA is still predominantly done through offline. That’s why we are very excited to have our own brand stores through this acquisition as it will further refine our content to community to commerce business model, which not many companies have pulled off successfully. We aim to be among those successful few. We are also equally enthusiastic to bring our offering of media solutions to all of the partners at Motherswork, aiming to improve the lives of mums and help them raise happy, healthy, and confident kids.”

Meanwhile, Sharon Wong, founder and CEO of Motherswork, echoes the same sentiment, stating, “Motherswork is a well-established brand for premium mother, baby, and kids’ products in Singapore and China. This acquisition will enable Motherswork to expand its footprint into the other countries in Southeast Asia through The Parentinc. I certainly look forward to the combined synergies of our two organisations which will enable the Group to scale to greater heights.”

Singapore – The Parentinc, the Singapore-headquartered parent-tech company focused on building content, community, and commerce solutions for pregnant women and young mothers in SEA, has appointed ex-Unilever Rahul Welde as Independent Non-Executive Director to its board. 

At Unilever, Welde was formerly the Executive Vice President of Global Digital Transformation where he led digital strategy and execution for the Unilever brands. He brings with him over 30 years of experience in the global fast-moving consumer goods sector. 

Roshni Mahtani Cheung, Group CEO and Founder of The Parentinc, said, “I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Rahul to The Parentinc board. Rahul’s exceptional knowledge in building and growing brands and his expertise at the intersection of content and commerce are highly relevant in our mission to serve the needs of our community of parents and of our clients in the mother and child space. We look forward to Rahul’s invaluable contribution as we continue to realise our mission and drive profitable growth.”

In April 2022, The Parentinc, which owns and operates theAsianparent and Mama’s Choice, content and community platform and D2C brand for parents respectively, closed its Series D fundraising round with new shareholders East Ventures, Central Retail Corp., and LINE SEA Corp.

Welde commented, “I have watched Roshni and the team from the early days when The Parentinc was just a media publisher for young parents in Singapore. Over the years, I have seen its transformation and expansion, now with presence in six countries across Southeast Asia.”

He added, “I am impressed with the progress and how the team continues to leverage technology, growing its community and creating great content. It is an incredible accomplishment that theAsianparent has the largest community of parents in Southeast Asia, now reaching seven out of 10 young digital mothers across the region. Building a fast-growing commerce line, Mama’s Choice is an exciting new frontier. I am delighted to be a part of the next phase of their growth story.” 

Singapore – Singapore-based tech company The Parentinc has announced the successful completion of the acquisition of Webtretho and Bé Yêu, a women and parenting communities platform in Vietnam.

Founded in 2002, Webtretho is an online destination for women in Vietnam with millions of visitors every year. Webtretho’s mission to elevate women and enrich their lives has enabled the company to build one of SEA’s prominent user-generated content platforms where members share knowledge and experience in a wide range of topics including parenthood, and pregnancy, childcare, beauty, healthcare, and entertainment.

Webtretho also operates Bé Yêu, a well-known Vietnamese social network aimed to provide a discussion platform for expectant parents and families looking to raise their children better.

Roshni Mahtani-Cheung, group CEO and founder of The Parentinc, said that they are extremely thrilled to welcome the team at Webtretho and Bé Yêu into their family. Cheung added that Webtretho is a household name in Vietnam trusted by almost every young mother over the last two decades.

“Combining that with The Parentinc’s deep technology and commercial capabilities will bring a new era of innovation to help Vietnamese parents have healthier pregnancies and raise healthy families. We are deeply humbled by the opportunity to be able to partner with the Webtretho and Bé Yêu team to further our joint mission in such big strides,” Cheung said.

Meanwhile, Nikki Assavathorn, The Parentinc Cluster Country Head of Thailand and Vietnam, shares, “The Parentinc is the number one parenting community in 11 markets across the world. We are very excited to partner with the Webtretho team to now be the number one parenting community in Vietnam as well.

Assavathom added, “Combining Webtretho’s audience in Vietnam and The Parentinc’s technology will provide our advertising partners an unprecedented way to reach the right audience with the right message at the right time.”

Phan Thanh Huong, CEO of Webtretho, commented, “This is a new phase of growth for Webtretho and our Vietnam team. I am delighted by this new development in the business and I very much look forward to this partnership with Roshni, Nikki, and The Parentinc team.”