Flash Coffee Is Listed as Centaur after Closing Series B1 Funding Round

Flash Coffee has recently closed another funding in the Series B1 round. The representative confirms this information as contacted by DailySocial, however, the company is reluctant to mention further details. It is said that the closing of the B2 round will soon follow and it potentially turns 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 $30 million, catapulting the company's valuation to $175 million and cementing them in the centaur ranks.

Previously, Flash Coffee has secured Series A funding worth $15 million 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 at that time that the company would expand to 10 countries in the Asia Pacific by targeting 300 new outlets or three new outlets every week.

Brunier considers that the retail coffee outlet market in Indonesia is very attractive and has great room for growth. In addition to the high population, the upper-middle-class segment with a thirst to try new products, and coffee consumption per capita keep increasing.

Flash Coffee was founded in January 2020 and now has more outlets in Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. It is claimed that the majority of Flash Coffee outlets have made a profit while demonstrating the success of their business model

Based on its website, there are currently around 82 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 & go concept --- using the developed application, users can place orders and make payments to be picked up at the nearest outlet. On the other side is taking advantage of the food delivery service.

According to research (MIX, 2020), 40% of young coffee customers in Indonesia are starting to switch to grab & go outlets. This demand is encouraged by the shifting behavior from instant coffee, as consumers want a higher quality drink -- as well as pairing it 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 programs and activities. Moreover, app traffic becomes useful data for studying user habits and trends to be later translated into product and service innovations.

–Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian