South-East Asian countries have been successfully launching tech-based startups in the areas of FinTech, PropTech and EdTech.
FoodTech is a sector which, in recent years, has also become very prominent here as these countries are home to great cuisines and a foodie population. An example is Singapore which boasts of numerous FoodTech startups, which are bound to become success stories in the coming years. Here is a list of the top-most emerging startups in ASEAN countries:
1. Zimplistic
Location: Singapore
Founding Year: 2008
Founders: Indian-origin couple Pranoti Nagarkar and Rishi Israni.
Funding received: US$48.5 Million
Investors: Credence Partners, EDBI, Openspace Ventures ( formerly known as NSI Ventures), Robert Bosch Venture Capital, VIR, Distinguished Gentlemen Group.
Zimplistic is a kitchen robotics startup that aims to help people eat healthy with the use of smart technology and robotics. It designs intelligent kitchen appliances and simple automation devices.
It designs and manufactures robotic Rotimatic, an Indian flatbread ‘roti’ maker. It can make rotis with customization in thickness, oil, and roasting, you just have to fill in the ingredients at once. Additionally, it can also make dough balls and wraps. Rotimatic started delivery in 2017.
2. Dahmakan
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Founding Year: 2014
Founders: Christian Edelmann, Jessica Li and Jonathan Weins
Funding received: US$27 Million
Investors: Y Combinator, Texas Atlantic Capital, Atami Capital, Golden Equator Ventures, Partech, Whitestar Capital, JAFCO Asia, Rakuten Capital, InnoStart Capital
dahmakan is an online platform for food order and delivery. Users can log-in and browse through the weekly menu and place orders. They utilize Artificial Intelligence in delivery as well as cooking automation. The company runs the entire value chain, starting from cooking fresh meals in-house and finally delivering to consumers. Pre-orders are encouraged as same-day deliveries are available in very limited quantities.
3. Chope
Location: Singapore
Founding Year: 2011
Founders: Arrif Ziaudeen
Funding received: US$24.7 Million
Investors: OpenSpace Ventures, Singapore Press Holdings, Moelis Australia Asset Management, Susquehanna International Group, C31 Ventures, DSG Consumer Partners, Square Peg Capital, John Wu, Frontier Ventures.
Chope connects customers with Singapore’s top restaurants. Online bookings can be done via the company’s website, mobile app and plug-ins for restaurant websites and Facebook pages. It had grown to over 200 restaurants in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, as of 2015. Chope has a tie-up with the travel platform TripAdvisor and in Nov 2014, it acquired Ticktok, a queuing service provider that helped restaurant customers make the best use of their time while waiting in line.
4. Meal Temple
Location: Cambodia
Founding Year: 2013
Founders: Maxime Rosburger
Funding received: Six-figure undisclosed Dollar sum
Investors: Australian and European investors
Meal Temple is an online food delivery service where people choose and order food and beverages from restaurants in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Sihanoukville.
- It had expanded in 2017 with GroceryDelivery.asia for online grocery deliveries in Phnom Penh.
- Meal temple had acquired Mydelivery.la in Q1 2019 and launched Mealtemple.la, an online food delivery service in Vientiane, Laos.
- It had also invested in Freshgora.com in Q2 2019, a multi-category on-demand delivery service in Yangon, Myanmar.
- Investment in Drukfood.com in Q3 2019, online food delivery service in Thimphu, Bhutan.
- It has even launched DriveUp.app in Q3 2019, a ride-hailing service in Vientiane, Laos. It is looking forward to expanding to more markets and industries in 2020.
5. Qraved
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Founding Year: 2013
Founders: Adrian Li, Sean Liao, Steven Kim
Funding received : US$9.3 Million
Investors: Gobi Partners, 500 Startups, Toivo, M & Y Growth Partners, GWC Innovator Fund, Richmond Global Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Convergence Ventures
Qraved.com is a restaurant listing and review app. It offers discounts for reservations made on its online app. Qraved also lists recommended dishes for users with photos and also an instant booking facility. It presently lets users place bookings for more than 1,500 restaurants in Jakarta, and had plans to collaborate with another 1,000 restaurants in Bali. Qraved also provides back-end technology for restaurant partners to manage bookings and create guest profiles online.
6. Polpa
Location: Thailand
Founding Year: 2014
Founders: Dr. Julian Timings, Prongfa Uennatornaranggoon
Funding received: US$2.6 Million
Investors: dahmakan
Polpa is an on-demand food delivery service based in Bangkok that helps people eat healthily and eliminates the consumption of oily and processed food that increases the early death rate. It offers a weekly changing menu of only healthy meals made from natural, organic ingredients. Each food item is displayed with a basic description of its nutritional benefits. In March 2018, Polpa was acquired by dahmakan, a Malaysia-based food delivery startup, venturing into the Thai market.
7. Cooky
Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Founding Year: 2015
Founders: Vuong Nguyen
Funding received: US$ 1 Million
Investors: ESP Capital
Cooky offers an online directory for cooking recipes. The recipes listed include both written and video recipes. Recipes that are posted by professional chefs are pigeon-holed separately. Users can browse recipes based on culinary, cuisine type, and dish types such as desserts, vegetarian, appetizers, main course, and breakfast items. Users are also allowed to post reviews and comments.
8. Good Meal Hunting
Location: Philippines
Founding Year: 2015
Founders: Lance Uriel Pormarejo, Warangkana Fajardo
Funding received: Undisclosed.
Investors: 500 Kobe (Non-equity assistance, which means they invested without wanting a stake in the startup)
Good Meal Hunting is a unique Foodtech startup that differs from a simple restaurant-to-home delivery service, it helps link home-based cooks to hungry customers in the capital city Manila. This startup provides home-based cooks with the logistical and technical help necessary to manage a food business outside native restaurants, including providing containers and managing delivery services. Good Meal Hunting is popular among homesick expatriates who want food from their home countries and also offers catering options for large gatherings, parties, and company events. Good Meal Hunting’s next aim is to expand its services to the greater Southeast Asian region.
9. Yangon Door2Door
Location: Yangon, Myanmar
Founding Year: 2013
Founders: Shady Ramadan
Funding received: Undisclosed
Investors: BOD Tech Co. Ltd., Mike Than Tun Win(Founder of Flymya.com)
Yangon Door2Door is a food ordering and delivery platform from restaurants in Yangon, Myanmar. The platform, available in the form of a website and app, provides a directory of restaurants and their menu from Yangon. Users can explore the restaurant and menu, select one, pay online, and opt for home delivery or takeaway. Door2Door conveys the order to the concerned restaurant and once completed Door2Door’s own delivery boys would pick the meal and deliver to the customer. The company mostly uses bicycles as the mode of delivery.
10. Fuel’d
Location: Brunei
Founding Year: 2018
Founders: Shazrinah Shazali
Fuel’d is a healthy fast food startup that also provides food delivery and pick-up service. Customers get to customize their meals. Ingredients are placed in an open counter display, customers first select their base of complex carbohydrates of brown rice with quinoa or red rice. These options digest slower, keeping one full for a long time. The sides of each bowl are then fully padded with four servings of fresh vegetables from a selection of eight. A choice of lean protein is then placed on top; either grilled chicken or salmon, roast beef, or a stir-fry of tofu and mushrooms.
The bowl is then flavored with a choice of eight sauces made in-house – from teriyaki to roasted sesame and sprinkled with a choice of two toppings from 10 options, including chia seeds, almonds, and seaweed. Salt, sugar, and oil is not added to any of the meals.
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