Tongcheng Group’s lifestyle services unit- Tongcheng Life raised US$200 million in a series C funding round as online delivery of fresh food is facing huge demand among consumers. The total funding stands at US$ 305.8M.
The funding round was led by Guangzhou-based video social media platform Joyy Inc. and with the participation of Engage Capital, Legend Capital, BAI, GSR Ventures, Oriza Holdings, Welight Capital and Tongcheng Capital.
It is a community e-commerce platform based in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. Tongcheng Life was founded in 2018 by He Pengyu, former senior VP of LY.com and Yin Xiang, who co-founded Chinese fresh produce e-commerce brand Qianxianhui. Operating as a community group buying platform, it establishes a community sales office and completes offline delivery. It provides supply, storage, logistics and after-sales support. Its main products are primary edible agricultural products, food, daily necessities, flowers and gardening, beauty products and other home supplies.
Tongcheng Life mainly aims at the market of fresh food supermarkets. Its share of fresh products accounts for up to 70% of total sales. Through upstream large-scale direct source purchase and downstream community delivery, the company improves the distribution efficiency of fresh produce at reduced costs.
“It operates as a new-generation internet company that delivers new life service offerings to about one billion people”, said Li Xueling, co-founder and chairman of Joyy Inc.
Incubated and backed by Hong Kong-listed Chinese online travel agency Tongcheng-Elong, Tongcheng Life had completed four rounds of funding in 2019, including a US$100M Series B round led by Legend Capital.
The demand for its products has increased significantly due to the pandemic, mainly because of the convenience in ordering and delivery. Tongcheng Life allows customers to purchase fresh vegetables, fruits and other home supplies through a WeChat mini program. The products are then delivered to smart lockers in residential communities for customers to pick up, thus ensuring contactless delivery.
