Peter Shearer never thought he would run a thriving startup focussing on empowering traditional mom-and-pop eateries –known as warung— in Indonesia.

Upon looking back, he realises that food and social impact are two things that have been close to his heart.

“My background was in branding and tech and I spent more than 10 years in the industry. I was intrigued to create something meaningful and an idea occurred to me in 2017,” he recalled.

Shearer realised how these traditional eateries have been a place for people from all walks of life to get an affordable and home-cooked meal. “I figured that this is a sector that the industry has forgotten or has ignored.”

When he went around the capital city of Jakarta to get a deeper observation of warung, he found hygiene concerns were the number one roadblock that impeded the growth of these small businesses.

Revolution for “warung”

One by one, Shearer visited these mom-and-pop eateries (also called warung makan or warung tegal). “As I was trying to understand their struggles and problems and how we can help, I realised that they face the same generational problem.”

Most of these eatery businesses, which have long been in the market, were passed on to their children by their parents. They still follow traditional methods and often have become averse to changes.

Also Read: Wahyoo raises US$5M Series A led by Intudo to digitise small eateries in Indonesia

He started Wahyoo simply from the desire to build a system to help these warungs with operations, so they can save cost, have enough time to relax, and have tangible business growth.

It took Shearer two years to collect the data of all the warungs in and around Jakarta  — about 13,000. And he worked on this project all by himself and reached out to acquire them, thereby marketing his company. In September 2019, Wahyoo acquired Alamat.com and then the digitisation took place.

“We looked at Alamat.com, and their tech team was already solid with a product that back then wasn’t working well. So we got in touch with Daniel Cahyadi and Michael Rahardja, and now they are our COO and CTO, respectively,” said Shearer.

Once the tech side was settled, Wahyoo immediately got into the fundraising mode.

Early investment

Although Wahyoo was started in 2017, the tech acceleration didn’t take place until last year. Last month, it caught the attention of Intudo Ventures and led a US$5 million Series A funding round in the company.

“The reason Wahyoo raised funds is that there’s still so much untapped potential with warung makan, and our team could use the financial resources to enhance tech development. Plus, the investors realised that we have a lot of room to grow,” Shearer said.

“We came across Intudo and we felt like the team had so much to offer. They have a partner in the US with a good network and connections, especially with Indonesian students studying there. We asked them to bring home these potential Indonesian graduates and bring them to join Wahyoo,” Shearer added.

Besides Intudo, Wahyoo also scored Coca Cola Amatil’s investment.

What Wahyoo offers

Before COVID-19, these warung makan had a high occupancy rate in terms of their work on the field. This meant they rarely held smartphones because everything was done by themselves. “This is where Wahyoo’s product assumes significance,” said Shearer.

Wahyoo wants to help warung makan addresses challenges such as getting extra income and more customers, opening more stalls and getting basic help, so they can have time to digitise and grow their business.

Also Read: Indonesia’s digitised hawker startup Wahyoo acqui-hires online store directory platform Alamat

“So we came up with a programme called P3K, which consists of training, guidance and income. The income part is crucial as we help them get on board with financial management, maintain customers well and ensure hygiene so they can get more income. We also help them go online, putting them on food- delivery app. We connect them with advertising partners, getting income from brands by putting ads on their walls and tables,” he explained.

In addition to that, Wahyoo also has created its own food product, called Ayam Goreng Bikin Tajir (“the fried chicken that will make you rich”), and has placed it on the warungs’ menu to provide more meal options to customers.

The app also connects warung vendors to shop groceries, allowing for delivery to their doorstep and cutting the time and resources needed to bring all the ingredients to the stall.

COVID-19 breeds new business units

In the past few months, Wahyoo saw its warung partners suffer, as their patrons were worried about dining in due to the pandemic. As per data, in April, there was a steep 50 per cent decline in sales at warungs due to their red zone location.

So the company came up with a campaign called Rantang Hati (“lunchbox of the heart”) that supports about 60 warung makan to have new normal protocols. “We provided a washing station, face shield and a separator on each table,” Shearer said.

Aside from that, it also invented a way to help the warungs to get income through a charity movement that empowered 200 of them to feed people who were in need (such as homeless people and those who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic). Wahyoo managed to gather donations by synergising with companies to use the money to order from warungs.

“We secured 50 to 100 pax orders a day, which is unlikely for them during a pandemic. They’re happy that they were still able to operate under such circumstances,” Shearer said.

Inspired by this movement, Wahyoo realised that a lot of people miss this type of food but the digitalisation on their fingertip sort of reduces their fighting chances to stay relevant.

“I figured that since we’ve all the infrastructure we need, we have the storage, inventory and logistics, why don’t we serve companies which are located around these warungs anyway and why not open the warung catering for them. This way, it’s a win-win for both parties, as it will be more efficient in terms of delivery. The subscription model also allows for a cheaper price,” he added.

Also Read: Free lunch no more: For food delivery startups in Indonesia, this is the time to rethink their moves

Wahyoo has also set up another business unit called langganan.co.id, wherein using its already established infrastructure, it covers some housing areas around West Jakarta and Tangerang to get grocery deliveries to people’s doorstep.

Bargain power

Wahyoo is trying to provide what the big tech companies miss out on empowering warung makan.

“Warung makans’ existence allows them to cater to their own markets and target audiences, such as low-income people and office workers. With cloud kitchens on the rise, we think these warung makans can be a new type of micro cloud kitchen that can then bring them another type of income,” said Shearer.

How so? “I get asked often if these warung makans’ kitchens are available for them to use for cooking, as they also need a spare kitchen with the growing demand of their online food business,” Shearer added.

With this in mind, the growth possibility for Wahyoo is tremendous. “We believe that our B2B approach to food and social tech provides huge potential. With good service and quality and a revamp, customers will come,” Shearer signed off.

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Image Credit: Wahyoo

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