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6 pivot stories of Vietnamese F&B brands that are worth your time (and taste)

F&B

The ongoing lockdown orders and temporary restaurant closures have left Vietnam’s F&B industry in a rather grim state. From restrictions on dine-in, delivery and takeouts with only basic essentials and grocery items given the pass, many restaurants have had to shut their doors (temporarily).

However, here are six F&B businesses that have successfully pivoted during these uncertain times.

Using technology to empower charity and enable mobile donations

While not a restaurant, Sayvu is an F&B-tech mobile app that pre-pandemic allowed users to redeem F&B vouchers from their favourite restaurants and cafes in Saigon.

Like any tech app, user downloads is one of the key KPIs as well as one of the largest cost factors. When restaurants could only do delivery and takeaway, Sayvu launched its contactless payment feature which allowed users to use the Sayvu app to make contactless cashless payments at their favourite restaurants.

While this seemed like a promising feature, it proved to be short-lived following stricter restrictions on movement (people are not allowed to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary) as well as an emergence of positive cases in food delivery riders. With this, the prospect of walking to your local neighbourhood restaurant slowly became an impossibility.

A month later, when the government stopped all food delivery and takeaway in an effort to flatten the curve in Vietnam, Jerome Ly felt defeated but inspired to give back to the community after seeing many suffering on the streets.

This was when he launched Vietnam Oi, Co Len, a not-for-profit charitable organisation that partners with restaurants including Baba’s Thao Dien and Lion City Heart Group to cook and deliver meals to residents in quarantine areas and the less fortunate.

Through Vietnam Oi, Co Len, which has delivered up to 70,000 meals to vulnerable at-risk communities, Sayvu has made a name for itself gathering the attention of media giants Nhan Dan TV and HTV9 as well as organisations such as the French Chamber of Commerce.

More than anything, it has touched the hearts of F&B operators (previously not partners of Sayvu) and of course, increased app downloads since Sayvu sells donation meals.

Also Read: Revolutionising the food industry with Malaysia’s StixFresh

An offline-to-online pivot driven by comforting F&B products catered for an anxiety-stricken market

I don’t care what anyone says, coffee is an “essential” and you can tell by looking at the number of speciality coffee brands and cafes in Saigon alone.

When the lockdown was announced, there was a surge in coffee interest,  from beans to cold brew as Saigon residents flocked to their favourite coffee shops to stock up on their daily dose of ‘lockdown fuel’.

I was admittedly one of them and while I love my French press, there is nothing I love more than a fresh almond milk latte.

So when Kel Norman and Will Frith (the good guys behind Building Coffee) announced they were doing fresh milk (both plant-based and dairy) lattes, my heart skipped a beat.

Not only are BEL Fridges the few fresh lattes (plant-based milk options available too) available for sale in Saigon at the moment, they also leverage the expertise, equipment and technology of Building Coffee, one of the city’s most credible coffee brands.

Simply put, building coffee is Saigon’s source for quality and behind the menu of some of the best places to get coffee in town.

And if you find the name BEL familiar, it’s probably because you’ve come across it on Sprudge, the go-to destination for all things coffee news and culture.

BEL is building coffee’s first retail concept combining speciality coffee and wine (under the watchful eye and expertise of seasoned sommelier, Dan Sousanis, a Level 2 Sommelier) under one roof.

Pegged to open on the 21st of July but due to the current lockdown orders in place, has delayed its opening.

Undefeated and armed with new equipment and fresh brand assets, Kel and Will launched BEL via a product-driven strategy i.e. fresh milk-based lattes and an evocatively nostalgic tea-based beverage coined “Dreamsicle”, which is infused with almond milk (lightly sweetened with coconut blossom nectar) and 100 per cent orange juice.

So, what do you get when a new ‘virtual brand’ introduces comfort-driven products for an anxious market while riding on the back of its market-leading credible older brother? Well, the answer is simple.

Lines forming at its door when its opens. Most of who will be loyal customers by then (including myself). This well-thought-out marketing strategy accords BEL its inclusion on my list of successful pandemic pivots and fingers crossed a buzzing status for this new-kid-on-the-block in months to come.

Also Read: F&B’s growing appetite for technology solutions and how it leads to success

Broccoli and beer anyone?

When beer was declared a ‘non-essential’ (I beg to differ) F&B product by the government in July 2021, this necessitated household craft beer brand Heart of Darkness to halt its operations and founder John Pemberton to say “enough is enough”.

At this time, much of Saigon was still in lockdown amid record-high cases and e-grocers were overwhelmed with orders resulting in an average 10-to-14 day waiting period. John Pemberton and his team recognised the bottleneck in the grocery supply system and decided to offer an alternative for Saigon residents.

Within a week, the HOD team partnered up with a fresh fruit and grocery supplier and leveraged its technology, warehouse logistics, manpower and resources to turn this household craft beer brewer into well, an e-grocer business. Best part? Yes, you can get your favourite ready-to-drink Heart of Darkness beers too.

Today, Heart of Darkness has even partnered up with other local F&B brands including Tartine and D’Art Chocolate to sell sourdough bread and made-in-Vietnam artisan chocolate on its e-grocer platform. Cheeky? Perhaps. Genius? Definitely.

Selling pizza with books and livestream DJ events

Beyond pizzas, cheese and pasta, Pizza 4P’s is a name widely associated with a myriad of different attributes namely sustainability and trendy interior design.

Unsurprisingly, one doesn’t become a household F&B brand well-loved by both locals and expats in Vietnam and around the world for no reason other than its products, right?

Continuing with this ethos of going beyond products, Pizza 4P’s launched a series of interesting launches during the lockdown including a virtual live music event featuring an on-premise DJ at one of its restaurants to live stream tunes to its followers and anyone interested in catching a glimpse of what a DJ turntable cum wood-fired pizza oven looks like.

I for one tuned and couldn’t be more jealous of the DJ that got to get a whiff of whatever pizza remains left in that oven.

In addition to live stream DJ events and frozen pizzas and pasta that caused much debate within Saigon’s expat community, Pizza 4P’s also launched its inaugural book Prayer to the Future: A book that lasts a thousand years, aligning with its sustainability initiative launched a few months ago for its 10th-anniversary celebration.

The book is a project that has been in the pipeline for months and features local creatives Ki Saigon and Zac Buehner with the simple purpose of sharing compassion with the people and world around us. It includes a series of letters written by friends, loved ones, loyal customers to their great-grandchildren with words of wisdom, hope and most importantly, love.

Since the letters had to be preserved for generations to come, they had to be done on plastic, which is recycled by Pizza 4P’s in conjunction with local recyclers who helped to collect secondhand plastic off the streets of Vietnam.

Is it working? Are they selling? Who is to know but perhaps that’s not even the point. What Pizza 4P’s has done is made itself memorable and the talk-of-the-town online (social media, Facebook groups, etc.) during the lockdown.

From fierce online debates about how its frozen products are incomparable to the real deal to heightened curiosity around the debut of its inaugural book launch.

Ultimately, where Pizza 4P’s wins is in its ability to engage Saigon residents virtually and establish itself as a fun and personable F&B brand. Now that’s how you attain household brand status.

Also Read: Mohjo bags seed funding from East Ventures to launch new plant-based foods, beverages

DIY meal kits

This might seem like an obvious inclusion for those thinking DIY meal kits is simply a dish broken down into its parts. To be fair, that’s not far from the truth. Nonetheless, for a restaurant to pivot overnight from offering in-person dining and hot food meant for delivery and takeaway to frozen DIY meal kits is no easy feat considering only certain types of foods can achieve this efficiently and effectively.

Furthermore, the equipment and logistics tied to being a DIY frozen meal kit business are not the same as a conventional restaurant and not many restaurants (especially premium to fine dining brands) would not opt for these options.

While pivoting to meal kits out of desperation to keep the restaurant alive might have been the original catalyst, this strategy is currently accounting for 100 per cent of revenue for several restaurants including Kebaby, Once Upon a Pasta, Rustic Kitchen and Jeffrey’s Kitchen Taiwanese Beef Noodles amongst many others who have been making waves online amongst hungry Saigon residents.

Launching a Specialty Deli by Kashew Cheese

Though Kashew Cheese has always had a deli where it sold its more-ish plant-based cheeses and milk, this well-loved plant-based brand pivoted into a 100 per cent -deli concept during the lockdown. The company leveraged its connections with partners, suppliers and wholesalers to provide high-end artisan products on top of its usual offering to customers, allowing them to shop pantry items beloved by their favourite plant-based concept. It also includes products such as chilli from Saigon Charlie, wine, sake and coffee beans from Lacàph to their order, avoiding a trip to the grocery store. Sounds brilliant, doesn’t it?

The high level of convenience and relatively low risk are attractive to people cooking at home more than ever, but more importantly, these side hustles allow restaurants to earn a small profit without having to pay for the labour to transform products into fully finished dishes.

They’re a natural brand extension that could increase a restaurant’s margins while continuing to provide a service to customers who trust industry experts with some of their grocery shopping or enjoy the idea of a chef completing the mise en place for a meal.

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community or like the e27 Facebook page

Image Credit: dragonimages

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Ecosystem Roundup: Blibli eyes 2022 IPO, Ant invests US$15M in Chope, Omnilytics to buy Supahands for US$20M

Blibli CEO Kusumo Martanto

Djarum Group-backed Indonesian e-commerce firm Blibli eyes 2022 IPO
It has picked advisers for a potential initial public offering in Jakarta as early as next year; Deliberations are still at an early stage, and the size of the IPO could depend on which Blibli businesses are included.

Omnilytics to acquire Malaysia’s Supahands for US$20M to enhance its retail tech stack capabilities
This deal is part of the Singaporean firm’s ongoing strategic acquisition drive to expand its product offerings and enhance its retail tech stack capabilities; Supahands is backed by Patamar Capital, Cradle Seed Ventures, Axiata and 500 Startups.

Singapore crypto startup Alethea AI raises US$16M to bring NFTs to life
Investors include Mark Cuban, Alameda Research, Multicoin, Galaxy Interactive, Dapper Labs, and LD Capital; Alethea is part of a select group that’s helping test Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3, a language model that can produce human-like text; Through Alethea’s platform, users can create interactive NFTs so they can come “alive.”

Ant Group invests US$15M in Chope
The fundraise comes on the back of a strategic partnership between Chope and Ant Group’s Alipay; Alipay will provide Chope with its mini-programme SaaS and know-how, while Chope becomes Alipay’s platform partner with the capability to integrate a wide variety of mini-programmes.

Dekoruma nets US$15M Series C to expand its experience centres beyond Jakarta
Investors include Nexter Ventures, KTB Network, GDN, OCBC NISP Ventura and Foundamental; Dekoruma offers an ecosystem connecting home furnishing merchants, interior designers, contractors and property developers; Dekoruma also wants to see itself in around eight cities in the archipelago by the end-2022.

Centauri Fund raises US$8.5M from K-Growth to boost investment corridor between Korea and ASEAN
Launched in December 2019 with a target of raising US$150 million, Centauri is run by KB Investment and MDI Ventures: It invests between US$1M and US$5M in machine learning and fintech startups focusing on the Indonesia market.

HIJUP launches US$7M fund to back modest fashion brands in Indonesia
Called HIJUP Growth Fund, it aims to invest around US$138K each in local modest fashion brands and has already backed Buttonscarves and Puru Kambera; Hijup does not intend to fully acquire the companies/brands it backs.

Akulaku CEO William Li: ‘Asia’s BNPL sector has great potential compared to Europe’
The BNPL sector market size and penetration in Asia will be US$134B in 2023, which is only 4% of e-commerce sales, he says; Akulaku has raised US$218M from Ant Group, Sequoia India, and Qiming Venture, among others. It is now in talks to raise US$100M.

Startup Villages helps entrepreneurs move to Italian villages and make the most of their ‘EUR1 house’ schemes
Startup Villages target startups in food, dairy, agri, automotive & EVs, future tech, drones, AI, and food in Italian and Japanese villages in the initial phases.

Medici, a health-tech firm founded by ex-Grab exec, gets seed funding led by Insignia Ventures
With the new investment, the startup aims to foray into the insurance industry; Medici has partnered with companies such as FWD, Bao Viet Insurance, PTI, PVI, VBI, and Bao Minh Insurance to co-launch insurance products; Its healthcare services ecosystem includes telemedicine, health screenings, and a marketplace for drugs and supplements.

Tessaract.io raises US$3.3M to expand workflow automation solutions in new markets
Investors include Wavemaker Partners (lead), CMIA Capital Partners, and M Venture Partners; Tessaract aims to assist professional services firms across the region to automate repetitive operations and deliver a better experience to their customers.

Insignia, Y Combinator back US$2.2M round of Intellect to provide mental health services across Asia
Intellect aims to make mental healthcare and wellbeing support accessible for everyone through its end-to-end, 24×7 mental healthcare system in a single app; It claims to have clocked over 2.5 million users and 20 enterprise clients globally, covering 12 countries and 11 languages.

Ethis Global closes US$1.7M pre-Series A to accelerate global expansion effort
Investors include Malaysia Airline chairman Wan Zulkiflee, Daud Vicary Abdullah (Trustee at RFI Foundation), and Khurram Hilal (Islamic banking lead at Standard Chartered); Ethis operates sharia-based crowdfunding platforms in Indonesia and Malaysia and social finance platform GlobalSadaqah.

Ex-TPG exec’s startup Marathon Education raises US$1.5M to change the after-school tutoring market in Vietnam
Investors are Forge Ventures (lead), Marcel van Miert and Singapore Life founder Walter de Oude; Marathon leverages a live large-class hybrid model to ensure students get access to top-quality education from “top one per cent teachers”.

Vietnam’s bookkeeping startup SoBanHang attracts US$1.5M to venture out into working capital loans
Investors include FEBE Ventures, Class 5, and Business Insider founder Kevin P. Ryan; The startup helps small retailers create e-stores and manage orders to tap into a market of 16+ million nano- and micro-businesses in Vietnam.

VUIHOC gets funding from Do Ventures to provide primary school education through animation, gamification
The edutech helps students cultivate their self-study from an early age; It covers all three core subjects for primary school students: math, Vietnamese, and English; VUIHOC currently offers more than 150 courses, nearly 9K video lectures, and a repository of 240K quiz questions.

Mindtera bags funding led by East Ventures to grow its personal growth learning platform
Hustle Fund and Henry Hendrawan of Traveloka also participated; Mindtera provides curated personal growth learning curriculums across key areas of life — family, love and work, assisting people in a structured manner to better navigate through life.

Indonesian healthtech startup Zi.Care wins Telkomsel backing in US$500K seed round
Investors are Iterative VC, Choco-Up, and Tinc; Zi.Care digitises patients’ medical and health records then stores them on its cloud-based platform; The solution can increase accuracy in medical records while reducing waiting times and administrative processes in Indonesian healthcare facilities.

Talenox co-founder reveals the grind behind the glamour of entrepreneurship
However, if you are thinking of spending time on building a really good product and only raising funds when you experience hyper-growth, then you should focus on getting more revenue on board in a sustainable way and raise buffer funds to help you bridge your cash flow.

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How PRs can help their clients become thought leaders in the ecosystem

PRs

Press releases are passe. While there can only be so much news to share at any given time, startup founder stories and insights abound.

If you are a PR or communications professional seeking to get additional exposure for your clients in the tech startup ecosystem, here’s how you can leverage the e27 Contributor Programme.

It is an excellent opportunity for founders, corporate honchos, executives, government officials, and experts to establish their brand within the tech startup ecosystem in APAC. The e27 Contributor Programme is designed to nurture thought leadership in the industry. It is completely free of cost; all it takes is a simple profile set up and an original voice.

As you can see in this list of contributions we have published recently, we cover the whole range from founder stories, webinar videos with key takeaways, podcasts and infographics, funding experiences, employee management guides, entrepreneurial advice, productivity tips, sector-specific analysis, to regional trends.

All the community articles are written by ecosystem players. We simply facilitate its exposure through our widely visited platform with over two million reader base. 

What will your client’s gain?

  • Your clients’ articles will be viewed by thousands of readers of our website
  • Promoted at least 3x a day across e27 social media channels
  • They will also be featured in the masthead on our site as well as our daily newsletters going out to 50,000 subscribers
  • Boost their personal brand and position as a respected thought leader in the industry
  • Expand their writing portfolio, and attract speaking opportunities, etc.

Rachel Lau contributor

How can PRs facilitate it

Step 1: Email us the story angle your client wants to share, their bio and company profile
Step 2: Once we discuss it via email and you get a green flag, ask the client to create a profile on e27 and submit their article.
(Note: You cannot submit it on their behalf)
Step 3: We will publish the article. Get the client to share it within their networks.
(You can track the views on the article by visiting the author profile)

Video resource

If you have more questions, check out the FAQ here. We have also tried to address over 25 such queries specifically from PR professionals in an exclusive webinar with Telum. Check it out below:

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community or like the e27 Facebook page

Image credit: zinkevych

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Chope secures US$15M as part of a strategic partnership with Ant Group

Arrif Ziaudeen, CEO of Chope

Arrif Ziaudeen, CEO of Chope

Singapore-based restaurant reservation company Chope has announced a partnership with Alipay, a digital payment platform operated by Ant Group.

A DealStreetAsia report said, citing regulatory filings that the Chinese tech giant invested US$15 million in Chope on the back of this deal.

Through this collaboration, Alipay will provide the foodtech startup with its mini-programme SaaS and know-how. At the same time, the Singapore firm becomes Alipay’s platform partner with the capability to integrate a variety of mini-programmes to enhance the functionality and scalability of Chope’s platform.

The partnership means businesses of all sizes can integrate into the Chope app through its customisable mini-programmes. It allows F&B operators to reach the Singapoe company’s millions of users, leverage Alipay’s innovative technology, and easily digitalise operations.

Meanwhile, diners can look forward to a broader variety of F&B types and dining services on the Chope app.

Also Read: Restaurant booking app Chope reveals the secret sauce to its profitability in home market Singapore

Arrif Ziaudeen, CEO of The Chope Group, said, “The pandemic has fueled the adoption of digital solutions and services among F&B operators. However, for some, the extreme restrictions have forced them to finally adapt to digital lifestyles not only to remain competitive but to survive. Our partnership with Alipay comes at an opportune time to help lead this evolutionary step-change. Working closely with Alipay and our F&B partners, our ambition is to do with Asia’s giant foodservice industry what e-commerce has done with shopping”.

Founded in 2011, Chope works with the region’s leading F&B operators to offers restaurant reservations, table management, marketing, deals, and delivery. With Chope, diners can discover restaurants, make instant bookings, and save with dining deals. Chope’s demand generating diner platform is incorporated with a suite of integrated solutions encompassing reservation, call, queue, and table management.

The firm claims it has served 83 million diners to date. It has partnered with 5,000 restaurants, including The Lo & Behold Group, JUMBO Group, Soho Hospitality, Lost Heaven, Dining Concepts, Hospitality Management Asia, Ismaya Group and The Union Group.

Chope is operational in seven cities, namely Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Phuket, Shanghai, Bali, and Jakarta.

To date, it has secured US$35.3 million in funding over six rounds from investors, including Square Peg Capital, Openspace Ventures, Singapore Press Holdings, and Innosight Ventures.

Image Credit: Chope

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Thai construction-tech startup Builk One Group raises Series B+, aims for IPO in 2022 

Builk One Group

Bangkok-headquartered construction-tech company Builk One Group has secured an undisclosed amount in a Series B extension round from investors including SCG, Krungsri Group’s corporate VC arm Krungsri Finnovate, and BCH Ventures, a subsidiary under Thai telecommunication giant Benchachinda Group. 

This new investment arrives five months after it received the first tranche of the Series B round from Beacon VC, the venture arm of Kasikorn Bank, and three other unnamed strategic investors.

Builk One Group plans to use capital to strengthen its SaaS offerings in the construction and real estate industry. The fund will also be used to expand its solutions on a secured cloud infrastructure that will meet future work requirements.

As per Krungsri Bank’s statement, Builk One Group is aiming for an IPO next year.

Founded in 2005, Builk One Group has leveraged its over 16 years of experience in building construction management software to create new business model innovations in the construction industry. The firm helps companies in Thailand and ASEAN to digitalise their construction projects through a range of SaaS offerings, including business management services and online construction material trading platforms.

The company has also developed a technology for construction sites to enhance operational efficiency and reduce errors.

In March, Builk shared its plan to double down on its technology and financial services to enhance local companies’ construction material management process and propel the industry towards the digital era.

Also read: Beacon VC joins construction-tech firm Builk’s Series B round to help it with ASEAN expansion

Builk claims to have a user base of more than 40,000 businesses in ASEAN and is said it witnesses a growth rate even though the industry has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the new synergy, SCG and Builk will jointly develop a platform to increase work efficiency for the construction industry and enable ecosystem players to work together seamlessly, fostering the sustainable growth of the sector.

“We foresee that digital technology will be the thing that will drive the construction industry by leaps and bounds,” said Bunn Kasemsap, managing director of SCG Distribution Company Limited, SCG’s Cement Building Materials Business. “This collaboration will enable all sectors in the construction industry ecosystem to effectively connect and access construction products and services.”

Sam Tanskul, managing director at Krungsri Finnovate, stated that its participation in Builk’s Series B+ round will foster Krungsri’s expansion in the region and will support the development of strategic cooperation in banking services in the future. 

As for BCH Ventures, it realised that Builk One Group can synergy with Benchachinda Group in the future and expects to see returns in the medium term within 3 years.

Prior to Series B, Builk raised capital from Thai corporate venture capital funds Moonshot Venture Capital and AddVentures by SCG.

Image credit: Kungsri

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