Inagora

What Inagora does

Inagora株式会社 (Inagora Inc.) is a Japan-headquartered cross-border e-commerce platform that connects Japanese manufacturers and brands with Chinese consumers through a one-stop service covering content creation, marketing, international logistics, customs clearance, and Chinese-side payment processing. The company operates two proprietary China-facing shopping apps — 豌豆公主 (Wandou), launched in 2015, and 日淘市集 (Ritao Shiji), launched in 2022 — with approximately 3,300 brands and 40,000 SKUs on the Wandou platform. The business combines a Platform Business (self-procurement resale and marketplace storefronts with usage-based fees, no setup or monthly costs) with a Brand Incubation Business that builds awareness for unknown Japanese brands through localized Chinese content, KOL partnerships, live commerce, WeChat, and Weibo campaigns.

Underlying technology is developed in-house across the full stack. The proprietary WJS (Wonder Japan Cross-Border Syndication) system handles supply chain, order processing, and multi-platform inventory synchronization; the Garfield log collection tool supports operational troubleshooting; and the GAS (Gate Assort System) provides Arduino-based automated sorting for peak demand such as Double Eleven. Inagora integrates with Nexteengine, Japan's largest EC automation system, allowing existing Japanese domestic merchants to extend inventory into the cross-border channel. Offices span Tokyo (HQ), Beijing (engineering and app operations), Hangzhou (key accounts), Hong Kong (regional office), and a 16,000 sqm Matsudo Logistics Center in Chiba. The company is backed by Itochu, KDDI, SBI Holdings, IDG Capital, Ventech China, World Innovation Lab (WiL), CITIC Group, Charoen Pokphand Group, and Sugi Holdings, with cumulative disclosed funding of approximately $76.5M and a NEXT Unicorn ranking of 16th in 2018 (≈¥110B implied valuation) and 18th in 2020. Recent extensions include TikTok Shop consulting and live commerce (2025), Southeast Asia / Taiwan expansion via Lazada, Japanese sake exports, and inbound / regional revitalization services.

Name

Inagora

Legal name

Inagora株式会社

Website

https://inagora.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Inagora is a Japan-based cross-border e-commerce platform that helps Japanese brands sell to Chinese consumers via two proprietary apps, integrated logistics, customs clearance, and localized marketing and content services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations

Revenue model

1. Platform Transaction Fees: Revenue generated from transaction fees based on sales volume. Initial fees and monthly fixed fees are free; charges apply based on sales performance.
2. Sales Revenue (Resale Model): Company purchases inventory from Japanese manufacturers and resells to Chinese consumers through their apps (self-procurement model).
3. Marketplace Commission (Storefront Model): Japanese brands list products on the platform, and Inagora charges commissions on successful sales transactions.
4. Marketing and Promotional Services: Live commerce services, content creation, and promotional support for brands. W11 (Singles Day) campaigns and other marketing initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Inagora operates a cross-border e-commerce platform that enables Japanese manufacturers and brands to sell authentic Japanese products to Chinese consumers. The company provides one-stop services covering content creation, marketing, logistics (international shipping, customs clearance, domestic Chinese delivery), and payment processing. Primary revenue drivers include the proprietary Wandou (豌豆公主) app operated since 2015 and the Ritao Shiji (日淘市集) app launched in 2022, which together serve approximately 3,300 Japanese brands and 40,000 SKUs.

Product overview

Inagora operates a multi-platform cross-border e-commerce ecosystem centered on two proprietary Chinese-market shopping apps — 豌豆公主（ワンドウ）, running since 2015 as the flagship Japan-product-specialized cross-border EC platform, and 日淘市集（リータオシジー）, launched in 2022 as a supplementary channel. The core platform is underpinned by a Platform Business (ワンストップ型越境EC) that handles product registration, multilingual content creation, marketing, international logistics, customs clearance, and payment collection in a unified offering, alongside a Brand Incubation Business that cultivates unknown Japanese brands into established names in China. Additional modules include TikTok Shop consulting and training seminars (launched 2025), Southeast Asia/Taiwan operations via Lazada, and a specialized Japanese sake export category. Supporting infrastructure includes the proprietary WJS (Wonder Japan Cross-Border Syndication) supply chain management system, the Garfield internal logging platform, and the GAS (Gate Assort System) warehouse sorting automation hardware. The company also integrates with Nexteengine for inventory/order synchronization, enabling Japanese merchants already operating domestic EC to seamlessly expand into cross-border sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wandou (豌豆公主) App Japan-product-specialized cross-border e-commerce shopping app targeting Chinese consumers, operated since 2015. Offers both self-procurement (Inagora purchases and resells) and marketplace (third-party seller) models with integrated logistics, payment, and content marketing services. Features in-app SNS functionality (Princess Talk) and content marketing capabilities.
• Ritao Shiji (日淘市集) App Second proprietary cross-border e-commerce shopping app operated since 2022, providing an additional channel for Japanese brands to reach Chinese consumers.
• Platform Business (プラットフォーム事業) One-stop cross-border e-commerce platform service enabling Japanese manufacturers to sell to Chinese consumers without leaving Japan. Covers product registration, marketing, logistics, customs clearance, and payment processing in a unified service. Supports approximately 3,300 brands and 40,000 product SKUs.
• Brand Incubation Business (ブランドインキュベーション事業) Service that grows unknown Japanese brands into popular brands in China through localized content creation, marketing strategy, and multi-channel distribution support. Includes article creation, video production, live commerce, KOL marketing, and social media campaigns in Chinese.
• TikTok Shop Consulting Service Consulting service launched October 2025 for Japanese brands seeking to open and operate TikTok Shop stores in China. Includes store setup guidance, operational strategy, and promotion planning.
• TikTok Shop Master Short-Term Training Seminar Short-term training seminar program for brands and individuals looking to master TikTok Shop operations and live commerce strategies for the Chinese market.
• Southeast Asia and Taiwan Business (Lazada Partner Business) Southeast Asia and Taiwan expansion support through Lazada partnership, enabling Japanese brands to access ASEAN markets via Lazada's platform. Includes partner store and flagship store operations.
• Japanese Sake to China Service Specialized service category focused on exporting Japanese sake and alcoholic beverages to China, handling regulatory compliance, logistics, and market entry for Japanese beverage brands.

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivery to China in as fast as 2 days
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Itochu Corporation (伊藤忠商事)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Japanese trading company with strategic capital and business partnership. Collaboration on Japan-China cross-border EC and new product distribution systems.
• KDDI CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJapanese telecommunications company providing strategic partnership for 'China Cross-Border/Domestic EC One-Stop Solution'. Collaboration through KDDI's Wowma! platform for Japanese domestic EC.
• LazadacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSoutheast Asian e-commerce platform partnership for regional expansion. Inagora operates partner store and flagship store on Lazada.
• Hamee Corporation (ハミィ)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Hamee's 'Next Engine' (ネクストエンジン), Japan's No.1 EC automation system with approximately 2,300 client companies. Enables synchronized inventory, order, and product information management between domestic and cross-border EC operations.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Tmall Global (Alibaba): Tmall Global is Alibaba's flagship cross-border e-commerce platform serving Chinese consumers with imported goods from dozens of source countries. It is a broader incumbent that offers overlapping capabilities (marketplace, marketing, logistics) but does not specialize in Japan-only sourcing or full-stack content creation for Japanese brands.
• JD Worldwide (JD.com): JD Worldwide is JD.com's cross-border e-commerce platform, comparable to Tmall Global in scope. It offers marketplace, logistics, and marketing services for international brands selling into China, but with a different sourcing country mix and less Japan-specific content infrastructure than Inagora.
• TikTok Shop (ByteDance/Douyin): TikTok Shop (and its Chinese counterpart Douyin) is an emerging incumbent in cross-border commerce that combines short video, livestreaming, and marketplace functionality. Inagora has even built a TikTok Shop consulting arm, positioning the company both as a partner and as a competitor for Japanese brand attention and marketing spend.
• Pinduoduo / Temu: Pinduoduo and its international offshoot Temu are dominant Chinese e-commerce platforms with aggressive cross-border expansion. They serve as broad incumbents with massive scale and pricing-led discovery, contrasting with Inagora's curated Japan-product positioning and content-led approach.
• Rakuten Group: Rakuten is Japan's largest e-commerce conglomerate with international marketplaces across multiple geographies. It is comparable as a Japanese-origin commerce platform with cross-border ambitions, although it operates at much broader scope than Inagora's Japan-to-China focus.
• Mercari: Mercari operates Japan's leading C2C marketplace and has expanded into US cross-border commerce via Mercari International. It is comparable as a Japan-based e-commerce platform exploring cross-border flows, though its primary marketplace model differs from Inagora's managed B2B-to-B2C model.

Emerging players

• Xiaohongshu (RED): Xiaohongshu is a social commerce platform popular with Chinese consumers for discovery of imported beauty, fashion, and lifestyle products. It overlaps with Inagora in cosmetics and fashion content but operates as a user-generated content platform rather than a managed Japan-only one-stop commerce service.

Direct peers

• Jumei: Jumei is a Chinese cross-border beauty e-commerce platform historically focused on cosmetics from Japan, Korea, and the US. It is a direct peer in the China-facing cosmetics cross-border category and was a co-investee of Ventech China alongside Inagora.
• Secoo: Secoo is a Chinese cross-border luxury e-commerce platform that connects affluent Chinese consumers with international brands. It is comparable as a cross-border marketplace with authentication, content, and logistics capabilities, although its category focus is luxury rather than mass-market Japanese goods.
• Kaola (NetEase / Tmall): Kaola was NetEase's flagship cross-border e-commerce platform selling imported beauty,母婴, and lifestyle products to Chinese consumers before being acquired by Alibaba and merged into Tmall Global. It was a direct peer in cross-border category curation and brand incubation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ec_inagora
• Facebookfacebook.com/inagorajp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/inagora-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Inagora