Tag: Coffee chain

Singapore – Tech-enabled coffee chain Flash Coffee has announced that they have completed its Series B financing round, raising US$50m in funding. This will be used then to expand its footprint across the Asia-Pacific region to serve high-quality specialty coffee.

Flash Coffee aims to double down its current expansion in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and South Korea, as well keeping updated on their own technology and product innovation and further developing the sales performance of existing stores.

The coffee chain will continue expanding deeper into its most mature market, Indonesia, where the fast-growing middle class is rapidly driving coffee consumption in Southeast Asia’s most populous country. 

Following the company’s successful entry into Bandung – its first expansion outside of a capital city – with 11 outlets across the metropolitan area of over 8.8 million inhabitants, Flash Coffee will be officially launching in the vibrant city of Surabaya in July 2023. 

The funding round was led by White Star Capital, with support from Delivery Hero, Geschwister Oetker, and Conny & Co.

David Brunier, founder and CEO of Flash Coffee, said, “We are grateful to have the continued backing of our shareholders in this financing round. With 100% of our 92 stores in Indonesia being profitable, we have found a solid product market fit and are eager to expand our presence into additional cities in Indonesia to further drive sustainable growth.” 

He added, “Offering a product that people love and following our ongoing trajectory of topline and profitability improvements, we are confident that we will reach our overarching goal of being profitable on a group level next year.” 

United States — The global coffeehouse brand Starbucks has announced its exit and cease of brand presence in Russia amidst the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. This means that all 130 branches in Russia will cease operation following the announcement.

Amidst the exit announcement, the company promised that it will still support its 2,000 green apron employees or ‘partners’ in the country; providing six months of remuneration and assistance to transition to a new opportunity outside the brand.

This news follows after Starbucks’ initial announcement of the suspension of all business activities last March 8, 2022. The invasion of Russian forces under Russian President Vladimir Putin began on February 24 this year, a grim chapter in the Russo-Ukrainian War that started almost a decade prior.

In a letter to Starbucks’ partners last March 8, Kevin R. Johnson, CEO of Starbucks, vehemently condemned the assault of Russian forces into the territories of Ukraine.

“We condemn the horrific attacks on Ukraine by Russia and our hearts go out to all those affected,” Johnson says.

After a week from the February 24 invasion, Starbucks immediately pledged its commitment to condemn Russia’s attacks against Ukraine.

The company donated royalties from their business operations in Russia to humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine as well as utilising their EMEA business to create financial assistance and services. Additionally, The Starbucks Foundation contributed US$500k to World Central Kitchen and the Red Cross for relief efforts for Ukraine.

Starbucks is the latest brand to follow the exodus as a slew of brands exit Russia amidst its historic oppression of the sovereign country of Ukraine.

Singapore – Tech-enabled coffee brand Flash Coffee has partnered with green start-up CleanHub, with the objective of moving their brand towards being a plastic-neutral one. Through the partnership, for every Flash Coffee purchase, the coffee chain works with CleanHub and its global network of plastic collection projects to recover the equivalent amount of plastic before it reaches the oceans.

In November 2021, Flash Coffee embarked on a mission to neutralise its plastic impact for all past, present and future purchases and have committed to recover over 80,000 kilograms of plastic waste to date in collaboration with CleanHub.

Flash Coffee and CleanHub believe that channelling collective power is key to creating long-term positive impact on the environment, and with Flash Coffee’s latest app update, customers can now opt in to play a pivotal role in the coffee chain’s sustainability journey. 

For David Brunier, CEO and founder of Flash Coffee, sustainability is an incredibly important topic for Flash Coffee, and that their CleanHub collaboration that goes beyond plastic neutrality is just the beginning of their journey. He also stated that they are glad to be able to include their customers in their mission, and harness this collective power to create a larger positive environmental impact that recovers more plastic and leads to cleaner oceans.

“Our team remains committed to protecting the environment and minimising our impact wherever possible, and we are consistently reviewing supply chain upstream and downstream processes, product designs, in-store initiatives and beyond to understand how we can do more. We look forward to unveiling more sustainability-focused campaigns and partnerships with like-minded brands in the future,” Brunier said.

Meanwhile, Joel Tasche, CEO and founder of CleanHub, commented, “We are building a future where plastic is too valuable to waste. So far, we have enabled the recovery of over one million kilograms of plastic waste and we are connecting more than 100 brand partners to collection hubs in Asia. By engaging with us, brands are not only making an important environmental commitment, but also having a huge social impact. Thanks to Flash Coffee, we can help set up robust collection infrastructure that not only keeps plastic out of the ocean but also provides dignified jobs for hundreds of people.”

In addition, Flash Coffee Japan will make a move to switch to paper cups for iced drinks this month. These paper cups are thinly coated with recyclable PE plastic to meet stringent quality standards that hold up over time against condensation, and ensure the best possible customer experience. The initiative will be piloted first in Flash Coffee Japan, and rolled out across the wider region this year.

Singapore – Following the company’s funding in April this year, coffee chain Flash Coffee has officially extended its operations in South Korea and Japan, with branches opening up in each country’s capitals, Seoul and Tokyo.

The coffee chain launched with two outlets in Seoul, a two-storey flagship establishment at Sinsa, and a store in Yeoksam, both located in the heart of the bustling, upscale Gangnam district. In Tokyo, Flash Coffee unveiled a two-storey concept in the city’s iconic shopping destination within Omotesando.

David Brunier, CEO at Flash Coffee, said, “We are very excited to officially launch in both Seoul and Tokyo, and introduce our mission to provide high-quality coffee at affordable prices to these cities. These markets are known to embrace technology, and we hope to bring ease to the lives of consumers with our digital-first solutions, ultimately changing the face of coffee consumption across Asia for the better.”

The coffee chain will continue to grow its footprint across the seven markets it is currently in: Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan, with a goal of opening over 350 stores by early next year. The coffee chain has also set sights to enter three new countries next year; Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Un Koh, managing director for South Korea at Flash Coffee, said, “South Korea is filled with coffee enthusiasts and our coffee consumption rate ranks within the top 10 in the world. We are confident that our high-quality beverages crafted by award-winning baristas at Flash Coffee will appeal to South Korean coffee lovers. Our goal is to make our specialty coffee accessible to all, so for those who’ve not come across Flash Coffee yet, you will find us brewing very soon in a location near you. ”

Meanwhile, Shu Matsuo Post, managing director for Japan at Flash Coffee, commented, “Coffee culture has been prevalent in Japan for many years, and we’ve observed the rising preference for premium coffee locally. Specialty coffees tend to be expensive, but with Flash Coffee, consumers can now enjoy it at an affordable price point. We look forward to sharing our award-winning menu with customers in Japan, and hope they will enjoy our innovative creations.”

Singapore – Flash Coffee, a Singapore-based coffee chain backed by venture capital Rocket Internet, has secured US$15M in its recently concluded Series A funding to drive APAC expansion in 10 markets. The funding round was participated by venture capitals White Star Capital, DX Ventures, Global Founders Capital, and Conny & Co.

Flash Coffee which was launched in January 2020, aims to use the new funding to open three new outlets per week, an already ambitious pace that will be tripled to 10 store launches per week in order to open 300 additional stores across the region by end of this year. 

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The company is founded by CEO David Brunier and COO as well as CFO Sebastian Hannecker to make premium coffee accessible to Asia’s rising middle class. Through Brunier’s experience as foodpanda CMO and Hannecker’s Bain Consulting pedigree, Flash Coffee’s grab-and-go business model was created, allowing for significant cost savings to be passed on to customers.

“Strong investor support for our Series A round enables us to harness untapped potential in the region and replicate our success in seven new markets this year: Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam,” Brunier stated.

Flash-Coffee-Series-A-Funding-Coffee-Shop-App-Interface

He added, “We will also build a regional headquarters in Singapore and expand our regional tech hub in Jakarta to 50 people to support our vision of fully leveraging technology to improve customer experience, proactively drive growth and significantly increase operational efficiency.”

In addition, the company aims to digitize today’s offline-dominated coffee industry with a newly launched consumer app that boasts a streamlined pick-up feature, sophisticated loyalty program, personalized promotions, and interactive challenges. Its dedicated barista app improves the operational efficiency of its stores and enables performance-based incentives for its baristas, ensuring an unparalleled customer experience.