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Flash Coffee Eyes Indonesia, Asia Expansion Following $15m Series A Funding

Jakarta. Flash Coffee, a coffee chain backed by Rocket Internet, plans to add more outlets in Indonesia and expand in more countries in Asia after securing $15 million in Series A funding led by White Star Capital, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. 

Flash Coffee is the latest coffee chain to compete in Indonesia’s burgeoning beverage market that includes homegrown rivals like Kopi Kenangan — backed by rapper Jay-Z and tennis star Serena Williams — Kopi Kulo, and Janji Jiwa. 

The company’s latest funding round, which also saw participation from Delivery Hero-backed DX Ventures, Global Founders Capital, and Conny & Co, pushed the total capital raised by Flash Coffee to $20 million.

Flash Coffee plans to add two more outlets soon in Indonesia, bringing the total outlets to 16 in Indonesia, a company spokesperson told the Jakarta Globe. 

Launched in January 2020, the company now has 50 outlets in Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Flash Company planned to open up to ten stores per week to open 300 additional stores across the region — including Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam — by the end of this year.

“Our dream is to have a Flash Coffee every 500 meters in all major Asian cities,” David Brunier, Flash Coffee’s chief executive officer, said in the statement.

“All of this to support our vision of fully leveraging technology to improve customer experience, proactively drive growth and significantly increase operational efficiency,” Brunier said.

Brunier was a chief marketing officer at Foodpanda and Hannecker’s Bain Consulting, which shaped his conviction about the grab-and-go business model for the tech-enabled coffee chain. 

Flash Coffee fully digitized the process in its coffee stores, starting with a customer app that streamlines pick-up procedures to a barista app that improves its operational efficiency.

“We believe that the brand’s tech-enabled approach will drive its ability to provide high-quality coffee and service at excellent value to address an underserved demand for affordable premium coffee in these rapidly expanding Asian markets,” Eric Martineau-Fortin, the founder and managing partner at White Star Capital.

Brendon Blacker, a partner at DX Ventures, said Flash Coffee had enormous potential “to attract a loyal customer following for its premium quality and highly innovative coffee menu.”

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/business/flash-coffee-eyes-indonesia-asia-expansion-following-15m-series-a-funding