How small sellers on Shopee are driving big impact

In the Philippine province of Laguna, water hyacinths have long clogged waterways and worsened flooding during typhoon season, disrupting livelihoods in surrounding towns. 

However, Mrs Remia Adedoja, 67, from the municipality of Los Banos, saw an opportunity to turn this environmental hazard into something useful. In 2009, after undergoing a course from the Department of Trade and Industry, she founded Remdavies, a social enterprise that transforms dried water hyacinth stalks into handwoven bags and home goods. The business provides flexible income for women unable to take on full-time work. 

At first, Remdavies relied on traditional trade fairs to reach customers. “Sales were good, but I had bigger dreams for these women,” Mrs Adedoja said. 

With help from her daughter, Mrs Adedoja brought the business online with Shopee in 2022. To make the shift to e-commerce, the duo turned to Shopee University, the platform’s training portal for sellers. Drawing on its comprehensive suite of resources, they learned how to photograph products, improve listings and run promotions.

After applying these new skills, Remdavies’ sales quickly took off, surpassing 1 million Philippine pesos during the pandemic. The timely move online helped the enterprise scale its operations to meet surging demand, while continuing to provide livelihoods for home-based weavers across Laguna.

Remdavies is one of many micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have built their digital presence through Shopee. According to the platform’s latest regional report, over 99 per cent of Shopee sellers are MSMEs.

REVIVING TEA CULTURE THROUGH E-COMMERCE

For tea seller Hsu Qiong Wen, Shopee became both a classroom and a platform for sharing knowledge. A third-generation tea farmer from Nantou in central Taiwan, Ms Hsu, 41, had watched in dismay as the trade declined due to a rise in popularity of mass-market drinks. Her family had long supplied tea directly to distributors, but the shift in consumer habits reduced demand for locally sourced leaves.

In 2015, Ms Hsu’s father asked her to help revive the family’s tea plantation business. Shortly after she returned to the business, he suffered a stroke, leaving her to manage everything on her own.

“Tea is at the very heart of Taiwan’s culture, and core to my family’s heritage,” she said, expressing her hope to rekindle appreciation for pure tea and traditional tea culture. While caring for her father, Ms Hsu set up Cha Yuan Ming Cha on Shopee to bring authentic Taiwanese tea directly to consumers.

She completed more than 200 hours of Shopee University modules in branding, photography and marketing, and began using Shopee Live to share tea-brewing methods and the stories behind each blend. For Ms Hsu, the platform has become an education tool, opening the door to a new generation of tea drinkers. Today, more than half of her orders come from those livestreams.

With Shopee, Ms Hsu was able to run the business flexibly – essential while caring for her father – and reach a much wider customer base. “Thanks to Shopee’s high traffic and product visibility, as well as free shipping, our brand is recognised by tea lovers all across Taiwan.”

TAPPING DIGITAL PARTNERSHIPS TO SCALE THEIR BUSINESS

In Samut Songkhram, a coastal province in western Thailand, coconut farming is a centuries-old tradition. But amid intense competition and price volatility, many farmers face mounting uncertainty.

“I thought about how we can transform Samut Songkhram coconuts into something more valuable – that’s why I decided to produce cold-pressed coconut oil,” said business owner Tanitsak Srisamrith. “We formed a community enterprise group to stabilise coconut prices and give the community a more reliable income.”   

In 2011, he launched Plearn Herbal Cosmetics, which uses locally sourced coconuts to produce cold-pressed coconut oil and cosmetic products. In 2018, Mr Srisamrith started selling his products on Shopee, which helped his business grow far beyond the province. Even during COVID-19 restrictions, Plearn managed to stay afloat as it had established a customer base on Shopee.

Tools such as Shopee Live and Shopee Affiliate Programme (SAP) played a key role in expanding Plearn’s reach. SAP connects small business owners with content creators who are skilled at sparking demand through livestreams and social media. These affiliates can host Shopee Live sessions or product videos on behalf of businesses to expand their reach and drive sales. In the past two years, these affiliates have generated more than 10,000 orders for Plearn.   

Across Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Brazil, small businesses like Remdavies, Cha Yuan Ming Cha and Plearn Herbal Cosmetics are using e-commerce to build resilience and sustain local livelihoods. By blending traditional craftsmanship with digital tools, these entrepreneurs are connecting their communities to wider markets.

Discover more of these stories in Shopee’s 10th anniversary docuseries. To come onboard Shopee as a seller, visit the Shopee website.