DishServe Bags Pre Series A Funding, Ready to Expand Partnership

Delivery-focused ghost kitchen platform DishServe announced the closing of pre-series A fundraising this month. Some of the investors participated include Genting Group, Insignia Venture Partners, Stonewater Ventures, Ratio Ventures, Rutland Ventures, 300x Ventures, MyAsiaVC, and several angel investors. In 2020, they also received early-stage funding from Insignia.

The company plans to use the fresh funds to plant over 500 outlets in Jakarta and expand to Bandung and Surabaya. In addition, this capital will be used to increase sales channels, develop technology, and conduct curation to increase food options.

DishServe’s Founder & CEO, Rishabh Singhi revealed to DailySocial, Indonesia is a very attractive market with a variety of signature dishes. Cloud kitchens can certainly help F&B brands reach more customers in various geographic areas.

“In a certain way, cloud kitchens have increased the food options available to customers. Delivery only internet kitchen or dark kitchen is the future of the food business,” Rishabh said.

The animo of today’s society to order food online, has encouraged DishServe’s growth which has been functioning as a ghost kitchen. The company recorded sales to grow nearly 20x since its debut. Currently, around 25 brands have joined the DishServe platform.

Strategic partnership

Apart from strategic partnerships with brands such as HongTang, Healthy Box by M Kitchen, and Chicken Pao by FoodStory, DishServe is also working with cloud kitchen platform providers such as YummyKitchen and
Grab Kitchen is leveraging its platform to scale its operations across Jakarta.

In terms of delivery, DishServe currently partnered with third-party platforms such as GrabFood, GoFood, ShopeeFood, and TravelokaEats. Through this partnership, DishServe claims to be able to increase the visibility and exposure of its F&B partners while helping them get more orders.

“Over the past year we have forged deep partnerships with these players that gives DishServe and our partner brands more exposure and visibility compared to other brands listed on the platform. For example if you open the Traveloka app and continue eating, you will find the DishServe banner on the home page which gives us more exposure,” Rishabh said.

In particular, DishServe also provides relevant technology services to its partners. Among these are branding and marketing, inventory management, procurement, enterprise POS solutions, logistics services and warehousing expansion, and logistics services without capital expenditure and low fixed costs.

Apart from SMEs, DishServe has partnered with several well-known chefs in Indonesia to curate savory dishes to be sold under their own brand names. Currently, DishServe sells the Asian Fusion Rice Bowl and a unique blend of cold teas under its own brand.

“There are no big players in the F&B segment after KFC, McDonalds, Pizzahut, Hokben. We have the opportunity to grow a top group of small-scale F&Bs with annual income of less than $100k and have the potential to generate more than $1 million per year,” Rishabh said.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Moduit Secures 65 Billion Rupiah Pre Series A Funding to Expand Wealth Management Product

Investment fintech startup Moduit announced $4.5 million (over 65 billion Rupiah) pre-series A round led by Singapore’s Reciprocus Moduit Holding (RMH). RMH is a consortium consisting of Reciprocus Financial Services Pte Ltd, insurtech entrepreneur Walter de Oude, and Helicap. In this round, participated also Djarum Group’s subsidiary, PT Alto Network.

Moduit is the first portfolio of the RMH consortium with the ambition to develop the fintech business in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia.

In fact, the fundraising plan has been disclosed since October 2019 through DailySocial’s last interview with the company. Nevertheless, with the right momentum amidst this pandemic, the company managed to boost optimism to pursue growth. The series A fundraising is said to be held next year.

In an official statement, Moduit’s Founder & CEO, Jeffrey Lomanto explained that his team will use fresh funds to expand its platform to offer additional curated products from wealth management, aside from mutual funds and bonds. Also, to improve the Moduit Robo-Advisor feature, which provides algorithm-based automated financial planning services with little or no human involvement.

“We plan to attract more professionals to join us as financial planning partners at Moduit. We will offer them more opportunities and a better life balance,” he said, Wednesday (11/10).

David J. Emery as Reciprocus International Pte Ltd’s Founder & Chairman, also Reciprocus Financial Services Pte Ltd’s CEO said that the pandemic is a double-edged sword. “Moduit has developed a digital platform that can help its Financial Planning Partners to open important wealth gateways for gen-Z and millennials,” he said.

Singlife’s Founder, Walter de Oude said, “Moduit is the perfect platform that combines technology with financial planning in Indonesia. Moduit has all the recipes for rapid growth and success.”

Jeffrey continued, throughout this year, without marketing support, Moduit’s Assets Under Advisory (AUA) grew by more than 40% in line with the average investment value for B2C reaching $4600 or Rp66.7 million per client. Simultaneously, the number of Moduit Advisory Partners grew 74%, these partners handling an average portfolio of $60,000 or IDR 870 million per client.

In 2020, the company aims to triple the number of Financial Planning Partners and push AUA up to seven times. “The entire Moduit team is very excited about this development. With such a huge opportunity in Indonesia, our ultimate goal going forward is expansion throughout Indonesia, and we also plan to pursue series A funding by the end of 2022,” he said.

Different approach

Moduit takes a different approach in marketing investment products. There are two target consumers, B2C to target retail investors, and B2B2C by targeting securities marketers to reach investors with larger amounts.

This strategy was taken as the current wealth management industry is very fragmented. There are three main activities, educating clients by finding out their financial needs and what their cashflow is like. Instead of solely provided KYC (Know Your Customer).

Furthermore, the second activity is a financial planning to simulate the investment portfolio based on the data obtained during the first activity. Finally, the execution to transact activities in the second section.

“This last part requires an PI (Investment Advisor) license to administer, connect with custodians, KSEI (Indonesian Central Securities Depository) and so on. In Indonesia, wealth management startup players are very fragmented, if we expect it to be end-to-end,” Moduit’s Founder & CEO, Jeffry Lomanto told DailySocial.id in a previous interview.

Based on OJK statistics, the number of representatives of mutual fund selling agents (WAPERD) was monitored to increase to 24,351 WAPERDs as of January 2021, from the previous 24,972 agent representatives in 2017.

The B2B2C business is the biggest vehicle in Moduit. However, Jeffrey still wants his two businesses to grow together with the combination of ticket size and number of tickets generated from each.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Application Information Will Show Up Here

Kantongi Pendanaan Pra-Seri A, DishServe Perluas Kemitraan

Platform ghost kitchen yang fokus kepada pengiriman, pengemasan untuk semua makanan siap saji DishServe bulan ini telah merampungkan penggalangan dana pra-seri A. Beberapa investor yang terlibat termasuk Genting Group, Insignia Venture Partners, Stonewater Ventures, Ratio Ventures, Rutland Ventures, 300x Ventures, MyAsiaVC, dan beberapa angel investor. Tahun 2020 lalu mereka juga telah menerima pendanaan tahap awal dari Insignia.

Dana segar tersebut rencananya akan dimanfaatkan oleh perusahaan untuk menambahkan lebih dari 500 lokasi di Jakarta dan berekspansi ke Bandung hingga Surabaya. Selain itu, modal ini juga akan digunakan untuk meningkatkan kanal penjualan, mengembangkan teknologi, dan melakukan kurasi untuk memperbanyak pilihan makanan.

Kepada DailySocial.id, Founder & CEO DishServe Rishabh Singhi mengungkapkan, Indonesia saat ini merupakan pasar yang sangat menarik dengan pilihan makanan yang beragam. Cloud kitchen tentunya bisa membantu brand F&B menjangkau lebih banyak pelanggan di berbagai wilayah geografis.

“Dengan cara tertentu, cloud kitchen telah meningkatkan pilihan makanan yang tersedia bagi pelanggan. Delivery only internet kitchens atau dark kitchen adalah masa depan bisnis makanan,” kata Rishabh.

Meningkatnya minat masyarakat saat ini untuk melakukan pembelian makanan secara online, telah mendorong pertumbuhan DishServe yang selama ini berfungsi sebagai ghost kitchen. Perusahaan mencatat penjualan telah tumbuh hampir 20x sejak awal kehadirannya. Saat ini DishServe telah memiliki sekitar 25 brand yang telah bergabung dalam platform.

Kemitraan strategis

Selain menjalin kemitraan strategis dengan brand seperti HongTang, Healthy Box by M Kitchen, dan Chicken Pao by FoodStory, DishServe juga bekerja sama dengan penyedia platform cloud kitchen seperti YummyKitchen dan
Grab Kitchen yang memanfaatkan platformnya untuk meningkatkan skala operasi mereka di seluruh Jakarta.

Sementara untuk pengiriman, saat ini DishServe telah bermitra dengan platform pihak ketiga seperti GrabFood, GoFood, ShopeeFood, dan TravelokaEats. Melalui kemitraan ini DishServe mengklaim mampu meningkatkan visibilitas dan eksposur para mitra F&B sekaligus membantu mereka mendapatkan pesanan lebih banyak lagi.

“Selama setahun terakhir kami telah menjalin kemitraan yang mendalam dengan para pemain ini yang memberi DishServe dan brand mitra kami lebih banyak eksposur dan visibilitas dibandingkan dengan merek lain yang terdaftar di platform. Misalnya jika Anda membuka aplikasi Traveloka dan terus makan, Anda akan menemukan spanduk DishServe di halaman beranda yang memberi kami lebih banyak eksposur,” kata Rishabh.

Secara khusus DishServe juga menyediakan layanan teknologi yang relevan untuk mitra mereka. Di antaranya adalah branding dan pemasaran, manajemen persediaan, pengadaan, solusi POS perusahaan, layanan logistik dan ekspansi pergudangan, dan layanan logistik tanpa pengeluaran modal dan biaya tetap rendah.

Selain pelaku UKM, saat ini DishServe juga telah bermitra dengan beberapa koki ternama di Indonesia, untuk mengurasi hidangan gurih yang rencananya akan dijual dengan nama brand mereka sendiri. Saat ini, Dishserve menjual Asian Fusion Rice Bowl dan perpaduan unik dari teh dingin di bawah brand mereka sendiri.

“Tidak ada pemain besar di segmen F&B setelah KFC, McDonalds, Pizzahut, Hokben. Kami memiliki kesempatan untuk menumbuhkan kelompok teratas F&B skala kecil yang memiliki pendapatan tahunan kurang dari $100 ribu memiliki potensi untuk menghasilkan lebih dari $1 juta per tahun,” tutup Rishabh.

Moduit Tutup Putaran Pra-Seri A 65 Miliar Rupiah, Siap Perluas Produk “Wealth Management”

Startup fintech investasi Moduit mengumumkan perolehan pendanaan putaran pra-seri A senilai $4,5 juta (lebih dari 65 miliar Rupiah) yang dipimpin oleh Reciprocus Moduit Holding (RMH) Singapura. RMH merupakan konsorsium yang terdiri dari Reciprocus Financial Services Pte Ltd, pengusaha insurtech Walter de Oude, dan Helicap. Dalam putaran ini, turut berpartisipasi PT Alto Network, anak usaha Grup Djarum.

Moduit menjadi portofolio pertama dari konsorsium RMH yang berambisi ingin mengembangkan bisnis fintech di Asia Tenggara, khususnya di Indonesia.

Rencana penggalangan ini sebenarnya sudah diungkapkan sejak Oktober 2019 dalam wawancara terakhir bersama DailySocial.id. Kendati demikian, dengan momentum yang tepat di tengah pandemi, mampu meningkatkan optimisme perusahaan untuk mengejar pertumbuhan. Direncanakan penggalangan seri A akan dilangsungkan pada tahun depan.

Dalam keterangan resmi, Founder & CEO Moduit Jeffrey Lomanto menjelaskan pihaknya akan menggunakan dana segar untuk memperluas platformnya dalam menawarkan produk terkurasi tambahan dari wealth management, selain reksa dana dan obligasi. Serta, meningkatkan fitur Moduit Robo-Advisor, yang menyediakan layanan perencana keuangan otomatis berbasis algoritma dengan sedikit keterlibatan atau tanpa pengawasan manusia.

“Kami berencana menarik lebih banyak profesional untuk bergabung dengan kami sebagai mitra perencana keuangan di Moduit. Kami akan menawarkan kepada mereka lebih banyak peluang dan keseimbangan hidup yang lebih baik,” ujarnya, Rabu (10/11).

Founder & Chairman Reciprocus International Pte Ltd dan CEO Reciprocus Financial Services Pte Ltd (RFS) David J. Emery menuturkan bahwa pandemi adalah pedang bermata dua. “Moduit telah mengembangkan platform digital yang dapat membantu para Mitra Perencana Keuangannya untuk membuka pintu gerbang penting menuju kekayaan bagi gen-Z dan milenial,” kata dia.

Founder Singlife Walter de Oude mengatakan, “Moduit adalah platform sempurna yang menggabungkan teknologi dengan perencana keuangan di Indonesia. Moduit memiliki semua resep untuk mencetak pertumbuhan cepat dan kesuksesan.”

Jeffrey melanjutkan, sepanjang tahun ini, tanpa dukungan pemasaran, Assets Under Advisory (AUA) Moduit tumbuh lebih dari 40% seiring dengan rata-rata nilai investasi untuk B2C mencapai $4600 atau senilai Rp66,7 juta per klien. Bersamaan dengan itu, jumlah Advisory Partner (Mitra Penasehat Keuangan) Moduit tumbuh 74%, para mitra ini rata-rata menangani portofolio sebesar $60.000 atau Rp870 juta per klien.

Dia menargetkan pada tahun 2022, perusahaan akan menambah tiga kali lipat jumlah Mitra Perencana Keuangan dan mendorong AUA hingga tujuh kali lipat. “Seluruh tim Moduit sangat bersemangat dengan perkembangan ini. Dengan peluang yang sangat besar di Indonesia, tujuan akhir kami ke depan adalah ekspansi ke seluruh Indonesia, dan kami juga berencana untuk mengejar pendanaan seri A pada akhir tahun 2022,” paparnya.

Pendekatan berbeda

Moduit mengambil pendekatan yang berbeda dalam memasarkan produk investasi. Ada dua target konsumen yang disasar, yakni B2C untuk menyasar investor ritel, dan B2B2C dengan menyasar tenaga pemasar efek yang ingin menjangkau investor dengan nominal besar.

Strategi ini diambil karena di sini industri wealth management sangat terfragmentasi. Ada tiga aktivitas utama di dalamnya, mengedukasi klien dengan mencari tahu kebutuhan finansialnya dan cashflow-nya seperti apa. Tidak sekadar melakukan KYC (Know Your Customer) saja.

Lalu masuk ke aktivitas kedua, yakni perencanaan keuangan untuk mensimulasikan portofolio investasinya berdasarkan data-data yang diperoleh saat aktivitas pertama. Terakhir, masuk ke bagian eksekusi untuk mentransaksikan kegiatan yang ada di bagian kedua.

“Bagian terakhir ini butuh lisensi PI (Penasihat Investasi), untuk mengadministrasikan, menghubungkan dengan kustodian, KSEI (Kustodian Sentral Efek Indonesia) dan semacamnya. Di Indonesia pemain startup wealth management itu sangat terfragmentasi, kalau kami maunya end-to-end,” terang Founder & CEO Moduit Jeffry Lomanto kepada DailySocial.id dalam wawancara sebelumnya.

Berdasarkan statistik OJK, jumlah wakil agen penjual reksa dana (WAPERD) terpantau meningkat menjadi 24.351 WAPERD per Januari 2021, dari sebelumnya sebanyak 24.972 wakil agen pada 2017.

Bisnis B2B2C menjadi motor terbesar di Moduit. Kendati begitu, Jeffrey tetap ingin kedua bisnisnya sama-sama tumbuh karena ada kombinasi dari ticket size dan number of tickets yang dihasilkan dari masing-masingnya.

Application Information Will Show Up Here

East Ventures Leads Seed Funding for Kasual, a Fashion Startup Combining Technology and D2C Approach

The direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup Kasual has secured seed funding led by East Ventures. They developed products for everyday wear, with an initial focus on men’s trousers. The fresh funds will be used to strengthen the team, technology and factory capabilities, and to expand the company’s operational to Solo, Central Java.

In order to facilitate consumers to access its products, Kasual has developed its own website. In addition to the sales platform, it also provides several features. The first is called “Build Your Own Product”, allowing customers to choose the type of cut and size tailored to their preferences. There is also a “Virtual Fitting” service, providing direct consultation services with the Kasual team via video calls regarding sizes, personalized fittings, and product recommendations.

With more efficient ordering process and in-house garment production, products can be delivered to customers in less than 5 days. The personalization and technological approach is said to put Kasual the first fashion-tech and instant commerce in Indonesia.

“We realize that the e-commerce trend has rapidly mushroomed and helped customers shop comfortably from home, therefore, they demand manufacturers or sellers who can provide daily necessities, especially pants, more quickly and reliably. However, local brands are currently ignores technology which can actually be a vital aspect in fashion production. This means that customers still don’t have a reliable platform to get personalized fashion products instantly,” Kasual’s Founder & CEO, Alam Akbar said.

It is said that Kasual has experienced a 3x growth when the first pandemic entered Indonesia in 2020 compared to 2019 (YoY). To date, they have served around 80 thousand users and have produced more than 3 thousand products per month.

D2C Trend

Based on data compiled in the “Driving Growth with D2C” report by Ogilvy, Commercetolls, and Verticurl, current brand owners must have a D2C digital strategy to win the market. The main goal is to build a more personal relationship with customers, thereby creating a more effective and engaging brand experience as a value proposition. D2C provides invaluable ownership of customer data.

One case study that is widely told is the success of Perfect Diary, a cosmetic brand from China. Was founded in 2016, the startup achieved impressive growth throughout its 2 years of business. In 2019, they became one of the mos selling of three brands. Eventually, they decided to IPO in 2020 with $7 billion valuation. Its main strategy is solely D2C.

There are three main pillars that brand owners ideally have in its D2C strategy. First, it allows them to find product differentiation, this unique value is considered to invite more customers. Second, the ability to empower customer data to better understand their needs and characteristics. Third, to encourage brand leadership with more agility approach, including on the operational side.

With the same opportunities, some local players try their luck in the sector. East Ventures alone has also invested in another D2C startup in the skin care field named Base and a plant-based beverage called Mohjo. There is also Hypefast to help brand owners sharpen their D2C strategies — including to provide capital, network, access, and operational support.

On the investor side, apart from East Ventures, several other local venture capitalists have also started to enter the sector. From Alpha JWC Ventures, AC Ventures, and BRI Ventures through Sembrani. Recently, Kinesys has collaborated with The-Wolfpack specifically to strengthen the D2C ecosystem in its portfolio.

In terms of fashion business, sales is currently dominated by online shopping in global. Innovation is required to maintain this growth, along with changing trends that occur among consumers.

The most popular product categories in global online shopping throughout 2021 / Statista

Kasual’s further development

Various personalization features will be developed to support Kasual’s fashion commerce system. One of which is body measurement with 3D technology to strengthen custom personalization to be introduced by Kasual at its annual event “Custom Week 2021” on 17-19 December 2021 in Jakarta. By using an electronic body scanner, visitors can place custom orders instantly and accurately.

“We are delighted to welcome East Ventures and other investors to the Kasual family. With this funding, we will build a new team, improve the digital experience for customers and manufacturing processes, launch more product categories and marketing initiatives, and use new technologies such as AR measurement to create Indonesia’s first 3D body measurement. Going forward, we want to increase and process daily orders by 10x and process more than 5 thousand products every day,” Alam said.

Meanwhile, East Ventures’ Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Willson Cuaca said, “Indonesia has one of the most robust digital infrastructures in the region that allows small, custom-made companies like Kasual to thrive. We want to see how far they can go and support them along the company’s growth journey.”

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

East Ventures Pimpin Pendanaan Awal Kasual, Startup Fesyen yang Memadukan Teknologi dan Strategi D2C

Startup direct to consumer (D2C) Kasual mengumumkan telah mendapatkan pendanaan awal yang dipimpin East Ventures. Produk yang mereka kembangkan adalah pakaian sehari-hari, dengan fokus awal pada celana pria. Dana segar akan dimanfaatkan untuk memperkuat tim, kapabilitas teknologi dan pabrik, serta memperluas ekspansi operasional perusahaan ke Solo, Jawa Tengah.

Untuk memudahkan konsumen mengakses produknya, saat ini Kasual memiliki situs sendiri. Selain platform penjualan, di dalamnya turut disediakan beberapa fitur. Pertama disebut dengan “Build Your Own Product”, memungkinkan pelanggan dapat memilih jenis potongan dan ukuran yang disesuaikan dengan preferensi mereka. Ada juga layanan “Virtual Fitting”, menyediakan layanan konsultasi langsung dengan tim Kasual melalui panggilan video terkait ukuran, fitting yang dipersonalisasi, dan rekomendasi produk.

Dengan proses pemesanan yang lebih sederhana dan produksi garmen internal, produk dapat dikirim ke pelanggan dalam waktu kurang dari 5 hari. Personalisasi dan pendekatan teknologi yang disuguhkan diklaim menjadikan Kasual sebagai fashion-tech dan instant commerce pertama di Indonesia.

“Kami menyadari bahwa tren e-commerce telah menjamur dengan sangat cepat dan membantu pelanggan belanja dengan nyaman dari rumah, sehingga mereka menuntut produsen atau penjual yang bisa menyediakan barang kebutuhan sehari-hari, khususnya celana, lebih cepat dan terpercaya. Namun, brand lokal saat ini masih mengabaikan teknologi yang sebenarnya bisa menjadi aspek vital dalam produksi fashion. Artinya, saat ini pelanggan masih belum memiliki platform yang dapat diandalkan untuk mendapatkan produk fashion yang dipersonalisasi secara instan,” kata Founder & CEO Kasual Alam Akbar.

Turut disampaikan, kasual telah mengalami pertumbuhan 3x lipat sewaktu pandemi pertama masuk ke Indonesia di tahun 2020 dibandingkan dengan tahun 2019 (YoY). Hingga kini, mereka telah melayani sekitar 80 ribu pengguna dan telah memproduksi lebih dari 3 ribu produk per bulan.

Tren D2C

Menurut data yang dihimpun dalam laporan “Driving Growth with D2C” oleh Ogilvy, Commercetolls, dan Verticurl, pemilik brand saat ini dinilai harus memiliki strategi digital D2C untuk dapat memenangkan pasar. Tujuan utamanya untuk membangun hubungan yang lebih personal dengan pelanggan, sehingga bisa menciptakan pengalaman brand yang lebih efektif dan menarik sebagai proposisi nilai. D2C memberikan kepemilikan data pelanggan yang tak ternilai.

Salah satu studi kasus yang banyak diceritakan adalah kesuksesan Perfect Diary, sebuah brand kosmetik asal Tiongkok. Didirikan sejak tahun 2016, startup tersebut mencapai pertumbuhan yang mengesankan sepanjang 2 tahun bisnis berjalan. Bahkan di 2019, mereka menjadi salah satu dari tiga brand dengan penjualan terbanyak. Hingga akhirnya pada tahun 2020 memutuskan IPO dengan valuasi $7 miliar. Strategi utama mereka tidak lain dengan D2C.

Ada tiga pilar utama yang idealnya didapat pemilik brand dalam strategi D2C mereka. Pertama, memungkinkan mereka menemukan diferensiasi produk, nilai unik tersebut dinilai akan mengundang lebih banyak pelanggan. Kedua, kemampuan memberdayakan data pelanggan untuk lebih memahami kebutuhan dan karakteristiknya. Dan ketiga, mendorong kepemimpinan brand dengan tingkat ketangkasan lebih secara menyeluruh, termasuk di sisi operasional.

Melihat peluang yang sama, beberapa pemain lokal mencoba keberuntungan di sektor tersebut. East Ventures sendiri turut berinvestasi ke startup D2C lainnya di bidang perawatan kulit bernama Base dan minuman nabati bernama Mohjo. Ada juga Hypefast yang hadir membantu pemilik brand untuk menajamkan strategi D2C mereka — termasuk dengan memberikan dukungan permodalan, jaringan, akses, dan operasional.

Di sisi investor, selain East Ventures beberapa pemodal ventura lokal lainnya juga mulai masuk ke sana. Mulai Alpha JWC Ventures, AC Ventures, hingga BRI Ventures melalui Sembrani. Terbaru ada Kinesys yang menjalin kerja sama dengan The-Wolfpack khusus untuk memperkuat ekosistem D2C di portofolionya.

Untuk bisnis fesyen sendiri, hingga saat ini masih mendominasi penjualan di online shopping secara global. Inovasi diperlukan untuk menjaga pertumbuhan tersebut, seiring dengan perubahan tren yang terjadi di kalangan konsumen.

Kategori produk paling populer di online shopping global sepanjang 2021 / Statista

Pengembangan Kasual selanjutnya

Berbagai fitur personalisasi juga akan terus dikembangkan untuk menunjang sistem fashion commerce yang dimiliki Kasual. Salah satunya pengukuran tubuh dengan teknologi 3D untuk menguatkan personalisasi kustom yang akan diperkenalkan Kasual pada acara tahunan mereka “Custom Week 2021” pada 17-19 Desember 2021 mendatang di Jakarta. Dengan menggunakan pemindai tubuh elektronik, pengunjung dapat melakukan pesanan custom secara instan dan akurat.

“Kami senang menyambut East Ventures dan investor lainnya dalam keluarga Kasual. Dengan dana ini, kami akan membangun tim baru, meningkatkan pengalaman digital bagi pelanggan dan proses manufaktur, mengeluarkan lebih banyak kategori produk dan inisiatif marketing, serta menggunakan teknologi baru seperti pengukuran AR untuk membuat pengukuran tubuh 3D pertama di Indonesia. Ke depannya, kami ingin meningkatkan dan memproses pesanan harian sebesar 10x lipat dan memproses lebih dari 5 ribu produk setiap harinya,” jelas Alam.

Sementara itu Co-Founder & Managing Partner East Ventures Willson Cuaca, berkata, “Indonesia memiliki salah satu infrastruktur digital paling kuat di kawasan ini yang memungkinkan perusahaan kecil penjual barang custom seperti Kasual berkembang. Kami ingin melihat seberapa jauh mereka bisa melangkah dan mendukung mereka di sepanjang perjalanan pertumbuhan perusahaan.”

JIWA Group Obtains Funding, Changing the Local Coffee Industry Landscapet with Grab & Go Concept

Coffee chain startup “JIWA Group” or known as one of its products, Kopi Janji Jiwa, announced funding from Openspace and Capsquare Asia Partners. The nominal investment is undisclosed, however, the fresh funds would be focused on increasing business expansion. Moreover, the two investors are considered to have the best practices in the local and regional value-chain markets.

Was founded in 2018, the company has overshadowed 3 product brands. Aside from coffee, it also offers Jiwa Toast and Jiwa Tea. In total, there are around 1000 outlets operated in 100 cities in Indonesia. Throughout 2021, it is said that the company has sold 40 million products, increased by two times compared to the same period the previous year.

“We believe JIWA’s strong brand, unique product offerings, 1000 strong offline locations, equipped with the increasing use of technology across all business elements will continue to solidify its position as a market leader,” Openspace’s Executive Director Jessica Huang Pouleur said.

Technology development and omnichannel strategy

Based on the explanation of JIWA Group’s Founder, Billy Kurniawan, the impressive growth obtained also influenced by the digital channels. Including the use of social media for engagement with customers, and integration with online marketplace and food delivery platforms.

They also launched the JIWA+ application to support the “grab & go” model as a signature of Kopi Janji Jiwa since day one. Users can order menus and pay through the application, they also offer options to pick up at the nearest outlet or have it delivered to the location. In the application, a loyalty system is also created to increase customer retention.

Aside from improving operations by adding outlets, products, warehouses, and logistics, with the investors support, JIWA intends to accelerate the use of technology. They’re focus on several areas, such as improving customer experience, supply chain, and reducing carbon footprint. The founders also have a mission to become the industry leader for the technology-enabled F&B segment, to further enter the Asian market.

“Innovation and customer satisfaction have always been part of Jiwa Group’s DNA, ensuring we remain relevant and sustainable in the dynamic F&B industry,” Billy added.

F&B level up through digital

According to research (MIX, 2020), 40% of Indonesian coffee consumers are switching to grab & go outlets. This is supported by a shifting demand from instant coffee, as consumers want a higher quality drink — pairing it with complementary snacks. According to a report compiled by Statista, revenue from the coffee business (roast coffee) will reach $9.5 billion this year. It is estimated to experience a CAGR growth of 9.76% until 2025.

In maintaining the growth trend, industry players have started to take advantage of digital channels. This strategy was performed along with the increase in several outlets. The grab & go concept alone is very dependent on the outlets, although not a few are only used as production sites (without dine-in).

Apps are designed to connect consumers with outlets, shifting them from online to offline – or vice versa. This model is quite efficient, because companies can use the data obtained from consumer habits recorded in the application, therefore, they can offer products and services in line with the market share. On the consumer side, the convenience and value added make them willing to use the application.

Coffee chain brand owners continue to invest in developing technology. In addition to utilizing the existing platforms, they also create their own applications. Some applications even rank quite significantly. Based on our observations of Google Play statistics as of November 5, 2021, we got this data from the Food and Drink category:

Rank	App	Download	Rating
6	Kopi Kenangan	1 million+	4,6
13	Boba Ceria	100 thousand+	4,3
17	Chatime Indonesia	500 thousand+	4,5
21	JIWA+	100 thousand+	4,7
22	ISMAYA	100 thousand+	4,4
24	Fore Coffee	100 thousand+	4,6
61	Flash Coffee	50 thousand+	4,6
92	KULO	10 thousand+	1,7

Backed by tech startup investors

The technology adoption in the coffee chain business model is a special concern for investors. With the existing roadmap, players are able to provide impressive evidence and business projections – not just the coffee business, but F&B in general. Many food tech-based services are born from innovators. The opportunity to use the technology is comprehensive, starting from the supply chain of raw materials, for operational and transaction efficiency, and distribution.

With their respective hypotheses, several venture capitalists in Indonesia are entering the industry, including:

Venture Capital	Portfolios
Alpha JWC Ventures	Google, Hangry, Kopi Kenangan, Lemonilo, Mangkokku
East Ventures	Fore Coffee, Greenly, Legit Group
AC Ventures	Coffee Meets Bagel, Fore Coffee
Vertex Ventures	Dailybox
Openspace Ventures	JIWA Group
SALT Ventures	Hangry, Shiru

However, the coffee business model are developing in Indonesia. In 2020, Jago Cofee introduced the mobile coffee chain. Instead of using outlets, they use partners to distribute products around with carts that have been provided and specially designed. Likewise, Jago uses the application to make it easier for its customers to find partners and place orders.

This industrial landscape is becoming interesting, especially Kopi Kenangan as one of the coffee chain market leaders has the potential to become the first unicorn in the near future. It is known that the company valuation has crossed nearly $900 million. This means that the market share is already that big and the business model adopted can be well received and scaled up even more.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Application Information Will Show Up Here

Eden Farm Announces 271 Billion Rupiah Series A Funding Led by AppWorks and AC Ventures

Agritech startup Eden Farm announced the series A funding of $19 million or equivalent to 271.1 billion Rupiah. The round was led by AppWorks and AC Ventures, with the participation of Trihill Capital, OCBC Ventures, Investible, Corin Capital, and former investor Global Founders Capital.

This funding continues Eden Farm‘s pre-series A round led by investible in February 2021. With the mission of “Feeding the Nation”, Eden Farm has built an integrated food distribution network since 2017. The goal is to simplify the supply chain to increase margins by reducing prices and cutting out middlemen.

In its service, they also provide accurate demand forecasts for farmers by implementing digital acceleration, and achieving production predictability.

According to the statistics, Eden Farm currently serves 53 thousand customers and partners with more than 2 thousand farmers in Java. In order to support the supply chain, they also operate 5 Eden Fulfillment Centers in strategic locations, supported by 400 supplier partners for product availability.

Meanwhile, since 2019 AppWorks has participated in a number of local startup funding, including HarukaEDU series C funding (Nov 2019), Fabelio series C funding (June 2020), InfraDigital series A funding (Jun 2020), and iSeller pre-series B funding (2021).

Apart from Eden Farm, a number of local agritech startups are also trying to solve the same issue. One of them is TaniHub Group. Last May 2021, the platform secured a series B funding of $65.5 million (over 940 billion Rupiah) led by MDI Ventures. This round brought TaniHub’s valuation to over $200 million. Tanihub currently has several business units, including supply chain, financing, and farmer education.

Focus on solving supply chain issue

According to the BPS report, Indonesia has more than 33.4 million farmers, with the agricultural sector contributing 14% of Indonesia’s GDP or a $140 billion market growing 12.93% per quarter (QoQ). However, the agricultural sector still has major challenges related to supply chain efficiency and farmer welfare with many leakages occurring at various levels of the supply chain.

In this case, Eden Farm decided to focus on resolving issues in the supply chain. “We strengthened two important foundations on the supply and demand sides by building Eden Farm Sourcing Center (ESC) and Eden Farm Distribution Network (EDN),” Eden Farm’s Co-founder & CEO, David Gunawan said in an interview with DailySocial.id.

ESC is a program of direct collaboration with farmers to determine cropping patterns, certainty of selling prices, and certainty of the amount of agricultural produce taken every day. Meanwhile, EDN is a distribution network created to empower the community. EDN is spread in various locations and is within a 5 km radius of the customer so that delivery is faster and more efficient.

“Eden Farm is focused on revolutionizing the fresh produce supply chain and creating a strong defense in upstream agricultural technology. As early investors in Eden Farm, we see them growing and achieving their goals as they increase demand channels and build stronger relationships with farmers in the field. We believe Eden Farm can lead the industry towards digitalization and become a leader in B2B agricultural technology,” AC Ventures’ Founder & Managing Partner, Adrian Li said.

Focus on B2B segment

To date, the F&B sector has a market size of $92 billion, with the food sector expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.7%. They are also one of the biggest absorbers of agricultural products.

One of the business processes by Eden Farm is bridging needs on the industrial side, then connecting with farmers. They claim to have a strong operational system by procuring products directly from farmers, creating defenses in upstream agriculture and attracting growth through diversified B2B markets.

Focusing on the B2B market, Eden Farm supplies high quality food ingredients to various customer segments, including hotels, restaurants & cafes (HORECA), traditional markets, and e-commerce.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Application Information Will Show Up Here

Paras Digital NFT Marketplace Platform Secures 71.8 Billion Rupiah Funding

Paras Digital’s NFT marketplace platform received of $5 million or around 71.8 billion Rupiah seed funding. It was obtained through an Initial Dex Offering (IDO) and investments by a number of investors.

As stated in the website, some of the investors involved in this round include Black Dragon Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Moonwhale Capital, Digital Renaissance, GFS Ventures, Global Coin Research, OKEx Blocdream Ventures, as well as several other venture capital and angel investors.

The Co-founder, Rahmat Albariqi said this funding will be used to scale up its business, including to expand NFT assets vertical on the NEAR Protocol, such as comics, games, and toys.

“The NFT popularity is increasing this year, and there are many opportunities we haven’t discovered. We believe [market] research and expansion into new verticals can maintain the NFT value. By adding value to digital assets, we can create a big change for NFT in the future,” says the man familiarly called Riqi.

Paras was founded in late December 2020 by Rahmat Albariqi and Afiq Shofy Ramadhan, and was fully developed by a team from Indonesia. Prior to funding, Riqi claimed to have worked on several projects with creators to create and release their IP on the NEAR Protocol.

It wants to open up opportunities for anyone with passion to develop their IP in the crypto world. Currently, Riqi and his team are pushing for the development of crypto-natives IP to be built on Paras.

“We aim to be a pioneer in the transformation of games, comics, toys, and works through smart contract capabilities and blockchain technology. Therefore, we want to open up a lot of access by offering content through various media,” he said.

Several local platforms have started to initiate a marketplace-based NFT platform. Two of them are Tokomall by Tokocrypto and Kolektibel.

Digital comic project and target market

In separate occasion, Riqi revealed that his team is currently working on three digital comic projects using NFT. The first Paras Comic project has just launched and the content is created by in-house creators.

Meanwhile, the majority of Paras users come from crypto-native and tech savvy level. However, Riqi said that the platform has started to be used by early adopters not new to blockchain and cryptocurrency technology.

Paras Digital will expand NFT assets to multiple verticals, such as comics and games

“We are targeting the pop-culture enthusiast market, such as fandom and gamers with a focus on China and Southeast Asia. To date, our total sales volume has reached $550 thousand from a total of 400 thousand transactions,” he said. Since Paras is built on the NEAR Protocol, this transaction is only available using NEAR cryptocurrency.

Riqi said that crypto volatility remains a different challenge. Especially when the crypto market declines, transactions and sales will automatically follow. However, he admits that he is passionate about pursuing the crypto world considering that there is always something new in the blockchain ecosystem.

“This requires us to be constantly learning and innovating. Even though most of Paras’ core team are from Indonesia, we still have to update about innovations happening in other parts of the world. Not to mention about the time difference between Indonesia and several countries as ‘blockchain epicenters’ like Lisbon and the United States,” he added.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Platform Marketplace NFT “Paras Digital” Peroleh Pendanaan 71,8 Miliar Rupiah

Platform marketplace NFT Paras Digital memperoleh pendanaan tahap awal (seed) sebesar $5 juta atau sekitar 71,8 Miliar Rupiah. Pendanaan ini diperoleh melalui Initial Dex Offering (IDO) dan investasi sejumlah investor.

Sebagaimana disampaikan dalam blognya, beberapa investor yang terlibat dalam putaran ini di antaranya Black Dragon Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Moonwhale Capital, Digital Renaissance, GFS Ventures, Global Coin Research, OKEx Blocdream Ventures, serta beberapa venture capital dan angel investor lainnya.

Menurut Co-founder Rahmat Albariqi, pendanaan ini akan digunakan untuk meningkatkan skala bisnisnya, termasuk memperluas vertikal aset NFT pada NEAR Protocol, seperti komik, game, dan mainan.

“Popularitas NFT terus meningkat tahun ini, dan kami melihat ada banyak peluang yang belum kami temukan. Kami yakin riset [pasar] dan perluasan ke vertikal baru dapat menjaga nilai NFT. Dengan menambah nilai ke aset digital, kami dapat menciptakan perubahan besar bagi NFT di masa depan,” ujar pria yang akrab disapa Riqi ini.

Paras didirikan pada akhir Desember 2020 oleh Rahmat Albariqi and Afiq Shofy Ramadhan, dan sepenuhnya dikembangkan oleh tim dari Indonesia. Sebelum memperoleh pendanaan, Riqi mengaku telah mengerjakan beberapa proyek bersama kreator untuk membuat dan merilis IP mereka pada NEAR Protocol.

Pihaknya ingin membuka kesempatan bagi siapapun yang memiliki semangat mengembangkan IP miliknya di dunia kripto. Saat ini, Riqi bersama tim tengah mendorong pengembangan crypto-natives IP yang akan dibangun di atas Paras.

“Kami ingin mencoba menjadi pelopor transformasi pada game, komik, mainan, dan karya lewat kemampuan smart contract dan teknologi blockchain. Maka itu, kami ingin membuka banyak akses dengan menawarkan konten melalui berbagai media,” tuturnya.

Beberapa platform lokal juga mulai menginisiasi platform NFT berbasis marketplace. Dua di antaranya Tokomall milik Tokocrypto dan Kolektibel.

Proyek digital comic dan target pasar

Dihubungi secara terpisah, Riqi mengungkap bahwa pihaknya saat ini tengah menggarap tiga proyek digital comic dengan menggunakan NFT. Proyek perdananya Paras Comic baru saja meluncur yang mana kontennya dikerjakan oleh kreator in-house.

Adapun, mayoritas pengguna Paras berasal dari kalangan crypto-native dan tech savvy. Namun, Riqi menyebut platformnya mulai digunakan oleh kalangan early adopter yang belum awam terhadap teknologi blockchain dan cryptocurrency.

Paras Digital NFT — Paras Digital akan memperluas aset NFT ke beberapa vertikal, seperti komik dan game

“Kami membidik pasar pop-culture enthusiast, seperti fandom dan gamer dengan fokus pada Tiongkok dan Asia Tenggara. Hingga saat ini, total volume penjualan kami mencapai $550 ribu dari total 400 ribu transaksi,” tuturnya. Mengingat Paras dibangun di atas NEAR Protocol, transaksi jual-beli ini baru bisa menggunakan cryptocurrency NEAR.

Riqi menilai volatilitas kripto tetap menjadi tantangan tersendiri. Apalagi ketika pasar kripto menurun, otomatis transaksi dan penjualan akan mengikuti. Kendati begitu, ia mengaku bersemangat menekuni dunia kripto mengingat selalu ada hal baru di ekosistem blockchain.

“Ini yang mengharuskan kami untuk constantly learning and innovating. Meski kebanyakan core team Paras berasal dari Indonesia, kami tetap harus update tentang inovasi yang terjadi di belahan dunia sana. Belum lagi bicara soal perbedaan waktu antara Indonesia dan beberapa negara yang menjadi ‘epicenter blockchain‘ seperti Lisbon dan Amerika Serikat,” tambahnya.