Oddle evens out revenue for 2023, losses narrow

Oddle, touted as the “Shopify for restaurants,” seems to have had a difficult time adjusting to a post-pandemic world.

The company’s revenue for 2023 was S$20.5 million (US$15.5 million), according to its audited financials. This is compared to US$11.4 million in the nine-month period ended December 2022 – the company changed its financial year-end from March to December that year.

Oddle founders / Photo credit: Oddle

Annualized, Oddle’s revenue only grew by around 2% in 2023. This is a far cry from the 9x growth the company experienced from March 2020 to March 2022.

Revenue stabilizes as losses narrow

Founded in 2014 by Jonathan Lim, Alan Goh, and Yong Xiang Pua, Oddle helps restaurants and F&B brands go online. In addition to its food ordering platform, it offers dine-in solutions including reservations, QR code-based ordering, and payment terminals.

The company doesn’t charge any subscription fees for its offerings and instead takes a 10% commission from orders fulfilled on its platform as well as a minimum of US$0.15 per reservation booking. Its payment terminal services have their own commission and fee structure.

Oddle’s small revenue bump in 2023 is still an improvement on its previous financial year’s performance. Annualized, that was 37.5% lower compared to FY 2021.

The company tells Tech in Asia that as the world shifts from pandemic-related movement restrictions, with Singapore removing them outright in May 2023, it is “natural” that food deliveries would decline.

Oddle says it has been adjusting its operations since 2022, investing in other areas such as reservations, payment terminals, and loyalty – shifting to a more omnichannel approach for its partner merchants.

“The company has started assisting its merchants to monetize data and increase transactions,” it adds.

These products will help merchants and Oddle itself hit profitability milestones, which the startup says it is on track to achieve. However, it did not give a specific timeline.

Meanwhile, Oddle’s annualized results from operating activities improved by 40% year on year. This was because the company cut its expenses across the board in 2023, spending 38% less on selling and distribution as well as 20% less on research and development.

In April last year, the company let go of 25% of its staff across its four markets: Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

The company last raised capital in 2022, securing US$5 million in a pre-series B round led by Altara Ventures.