Yummy Corp Bags Additional Series B Funding from BRI Ventures

After securing $12 million in Series B funding led by Softbank Ventures Asia in October 2020, Yummy Corp's cloud kitchen platform has secured additional series B funding from BRI Ventures' Sembrani Nusantara. There is no further detais on the investment value. The company will use the funds to continue the Yummykitchen expansion in more than 50 new locations until the end of 2021.

"We expect that our expansion will not only help business players, but will also be able to open up many new jobs and help the national economy to bounce back," Yummy Corp's CEO, Mario Suntanu said.

Yummykitchen, Yummy Corp's cloud kitchen business unit which was established in 2019, is growing rapidly and is sought after by food and beverage business players in Indonesia to help expand quickly and affordably during the pandemic. Cloud kitchen also become the solution as the restriction for malls opening and closing and dine in are still strictly enforced by the government.

To date, Yummy Corp runs more than 70 shared kitchens across Jadetabek, Medan, and Bandung; in collaboration with more than 50 food and beverage brands such as Dailybox, Gaaram, Kyochon, Sei Sapi Lamalera, and others. Various types of food are offered by Yummykitchen in order to provide diverse choices for consumers to enjoy the experience of buying their favorite food brands in one place.

"Now is the right time for us to encourage MSMEs platform growth through funding in new retail sector. Yummy Corp has helped MSMEs to survive the pandemic crisis and can continue to expand their business opportunities," BRI Ventures' CEO, Nicko Widjaja said.

Nicko continued, "BRI Ventures through the Sembrani Nusantara Venture Fund is committed to continue accelerating Indonesia's MSMEs through the technology startup ecosystem. In addition, the new retail sector is also one of the industries with significant growth in recent years and this sector will continue to grow in the future."

This year, Yummy Corp also announced new innovation by building a foodcourt management business unit that is integrated with online sales. This includes launching Yummyshop, an application that aims to help MSMEs sell food online, therefore, they can make orders and easy payment links.

"By the end of 2021, our target is to recruit employees and improve the quality of existing human resources as well as develop technological innovations, to help F&B players and also MSMEs in Indonesia to rise along during the pandemic," Mario told DailySocial.

Cloud kitchen's growth in Indonesia

According to a report released by Savills, the cloud kitchen market in Indonesia is gaining its momentum, especially in Jakarta, a vibrant economic hub and home to more than 10 million people. During the pandemic the growth is rapid, not only cloud kitchens but also a new concept, ghost kitchens.

"During the pandemic, the number of Yummykitchen transactions grew significantly up to 7 times compared to March 2020. This growth validates our belief in the great potential of online food delivery, which seems to have boomed early due to the pandemic," Mario said.

Cloud kitchen is not a new concept in Indonesia. The previous model of cloud kitchen – one kitchen managed and operated by a brand that focused solely on delivery and takeout, has been adopted by fast food chains such as Domino's Pizza and PHD. Instead of one building for a single brand, the cloud kitchen model is similar to the coworking space concept, accommodating several of the same brand or different owners operating in the same place.

In a report released by DailySocial, the majority of cloud kitchen operators are targeting F&B businesses in SME scale. Meanwhile, restaurant chains prefer traditional outlets as many of them sell not only food, but also atmosphere and dining experience to their customers. There are currently at least 15 cloud kitchen operators operating in Indonesia.

–Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian