Indonesian F&B and lifestyle giant Ismaya Group today announced a US$18.1 million (IDR266 billion) funding round led by East Ventures. Existing investors Falcon House Partners also participated in this funding round.

The company plans to use the funding to expand the reach of its retail F&B businesses, exclusive lifestyle products, and food delivery services. Apart from that, it also aims to optimise the use of tech in accelerating business growth through personalisation.

Founded in 2003, Ismaya started by opening its first entertainment business outlet in South Jakarta. After that, the company entered the F&B scene by launching restaurants such as Pizza e Birra, Kitchenette, Publik Markette, and Tokyo Belly.

Ismaya eventually expanded to the event promotion industry by launching Ismaya Live, which has worked with leading artists to run live music festivals and shows. Flagship events such as Djakarta Warehouse Project and We The Fest have become successful annual events that gained the attention of music fans in Southeast Asia.

Today, Ismaya Group is one of the market leaders in the Indonesian F&B and lifestyle industries, with more than 100 restaurant outlets, lounges, and music festivals.

Ismaya Group CEO Bram Hendratta said that many people had lost their human touch and craved physical interaction for more than two years of lockdown due to the pandemic. This seriously affected the F&B and lifestyle industries, especially those working in the dining experience and music festivals. The CEO sees today as a momentum to bring back these interactions.

Also Read: SEA’s F&B tech startups raised a record US$461M funding across 49 deals in 2021: report

East Ventures Managing Partner Roderick Purwana expressed his trust in the brand image and operational know-how that Ismaya has built in the past years in both local and international markets.

“We have witnessed the team’s resilience in navigating and handling crisis; now that the situation has become normalised, we are confident in Ismaya Group’s ability to grow and brings back fun for the future,” he said.

East Ventures portfolio in the F&B industries

Founded in 2009, Singapore-based East Ventures has grown into a holistic platform that provides multiple-stage investments, including seed and growth-stage investments in more than 200 companies in Southeast Asia.

Based on the newly released Startup Report 2021 by DSInnovate, East Ventures is one of the top investors in Indonesia in terms of the number of funding rounds that they participated in 2022 with 22 funding rounds. These numbers do not stray too far from their 2021 counterpart.

As the most active VC firm in Southeast Asia, East Ventures sees itself as a sector-agnostic investor. Almost all verticals in the local tech industries have been embraced by East Ventures, with F&B being one of the biggest. Before Ismaya Group, East Ventures has also invested in several foodtech startups such as YummyCorp, Kulina, Greenly, and most recently, Legit Group.

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The article was written in Bahasa Indonesia by Kristin Siagian for DailySocial. English translation and editing by e27.

Image Credit: East Ventures

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