Flash Coffee has recently closed another funding in the Series B1 round. A company representative confirmed this information when contacted by DailySocial; however, the company declined to mention further details. It is said that the closing of the B2 round will soon follow, potentially turning the coffee chain startup into a unicorn.
From the data that has been submitted to the regulator, a number of investors were involved in the B1 Flash Coffee round. The funds raised amounted to more than US$30 million, catapulting the company’s valuation to US$175 million and cementing them in the centaur ranks.
Previously, Flash Coffee secured a US$15 million Series A funding in 2021. White Star Capital led this funding, followed by a number of other investors, including DX Venture, Global Founders Capital, and Conny & Co.
Flash Coffee’s Founder & CEO David Brunier revealed back then that the company intended to expand to 10 countries in the Asia Pacific by targeting 300 new outlets or three new outlets every week.
Brunier considered the retail coffee outlet market in Indonesia as very attractive and has excellent room for growth. In addition to the high population, the upper-middle-class segment has a thirst to try new products; coffee consumption per capita also keeps increasing.
Also Read: Flash Coffee raises US$15M to take on the likes of Kopi Kenangan in SEA
Flash Coffee was founded in January 2020 and has outlets in Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. The company claimed that the majority of Flash Coffee outlets have been profitable, demonstrating the success of their business model.
Based on information on its website, there are currently around 82 Flash Coffee outlets spread across the Greater Jakarta Area. Flash Coffee remains attractive to coffee lovers even during the pandemic.
The growth of coffee tech
In the last two years, technology-enabled coffee shop platforms have received substantial funding. Starting from Fore Coffee, Janji Jiwa, Jago Coffee, and Kopi Kenangan.
Even though the F&B business has been under a lot of pressure during the pandemic, a technology-based (O2O) approach allows these coffee chain startups to survive and accelerate their business. One of them is the grab-and-go concept —using an application, users can place orders and make payments to be picked up at the nearest outlet. The platform is also taking advantage of the available food delivery service in the market to support its operations.
According to research (MIX, 2020), 40 per cent of young coffee customers in Indonesia are starting to switch to grab-and-go outlets. This demand is encouraged by the shifting behaviour from instant coffee consumption, as consumers want a higher quality drink –paired with complimentary snacks. The products sold on average are in the middle price range — below premium coffee, but above instant coffee.
The presence of the application is not solely for transactions but also as a medium to increase user retention through a series of loyalty-based promotional programmes and activities. Moreover, app traffic becomes useful data for studying user habits and trends to be later translated into product and service innovations.
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The article was written by Yenny Yusra for DailySocial.
Image Credit: Flash Coffee
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