Kopi Kenangan Announces Over 1.6 Trillion Rupiah Worth of Series B Funding

The new retail startup Kopi Kenangan has announced Series B funding worth of $109 million (over 1.6 trillion Rupiah) led by the previous investor, Sequoia Capital India. There are some new investors, such as B Capital, Horizon Ventures, Verlinvest, Kunlun, and Sofina participated in this round, also the seed investor, Alpha JWC Ventures.

It is reported that one of Facebook's co-founders, Eduardo Saverin has joined Kopi Kenangan's board of commissioners, through B Capital. His participation is expected to help make a faster business transformation.

"I look forward to working with Kopi Kenangan and building a global brand that celebrates the distinctive flavors of Indonesia and Southeast Asia," Saverin stated in the official release, Tuesday (5/12).

Historically, Kopi Kenangan has acquired seed funding from Alpha JWC Ventures worth of $8 million in 2018. A year later, they raised a series A round of $20 million led by Sequoia Capital India with additional funds at an undisclosed value from Arrive, Serena Ventures, NBA's Caris LeVert, and Sweetgreen's founder, Jonathan Neman.

In separate occasion, Kopi Kenangan's Co-Founder & CEO, Edward Tirtanata confirmed to DailySocial that the company is yet to acquire the unicorn status. As a general note, Kopi Kenangan's valuation is said to exceed the centaur position. "Kopi Kenangan is yet to be a unicorn," he said.

He revealed the plan with this fresh funding is to tighten its positionn in Indonesia. One thing, it's the plan to offer food and beverages from local partners and developing a cloud kitchen.

"As a startup in the growth stage, we are quickly adapting to challenges through contactless transactions and highly-curated hygiene standards throughout our stores. Employee welfare is a big priority and we are investing in their safety, along with increasing health benefits and additional training to help them cope with this big change," he said.

The pandemic hits Kopi Kenangan's business hard. Edward said all other industries, including F&B, are experiencing a significant decline, especially offline outlets. However, thanks to the grab and go business model, the company saw an increase in online orders by 50% in certain locations.

He believes businesses that quickly adapt to conditions can survive in a crisis, unlike the most brilliant or with large capital ones. "Kopi Kenangan has gained investor trust by adopting a grab and go business model that fits the current situation."

To date, Kopi Kenangan employs 3 thousand employees in 324 outlets in all cities in Indonesia. It is expected that this year the store can add up to 500 stores. The company also has ambitions for post-pandemic regional expansion. Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia, are the countries they are after.

"Regional expansion is still on schedule, by adapting to the post-Covid-19 situation," he concluded.

–Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian