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Hi there,
I love chai (tea) so much that I cannot say no to a cup whether it’s day or night.
Coffee, not so much.
I did try most kinds you might get at a cafe: cappuccino, latte, decaf, black coffee, cold coffee, cold coffee with ice cream, and more. Nothing hits the spot the way chai does!
Coffee lovers, don’t be mad with me – today’s Big Stories are dedicated to you. These stories made me realize just how much Indonesia’s coffee startup ecosystem is thriving. And it’s also fiercely competitive.
But thanks to caffeine lovers like you, two of these coffee startups returned to profitability after being hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
No, coffee startups don’t have much to do with emerging tech, which is the focus of our newsletter. But these coffee chains are powered by tech, so we’ll make an exception because Indonesia (and almost everyone at Tech in Asia), loves a good cuppa.
My colleague, Collin, dives into Kopi Kenangan’s return to profitability after the Indonesian coffee tech startup’s earnings slumped in a pandemic-hit 2020.
The secret ingredient to Kopi’s success was its shift in strategy to open more stores in residential areas, and the company is now considering expansion within and beyond Indonesia. Meanwhile, under the leadership of Vico Lamar, a food and beverage industry veteran, industry rival Fore Coffee has been upping its focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
Shadine, our new team member, reports that the startup turned profitable in the third quarter of last year. This comes after an unfortunate phase for the firm, which was forced to some of its stores and halt some ambitious expansion plans.
Lamar’s bet seems to be paying off. He says the company’s stores in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are now the “bread and butter for Fore Coffee.”
Things are definitely looking up for these two coffee chains. However, the same cannot be said for cleantech startups in Southeast Asia amid recession fears, as my colleague Tian Wen notes in Making Waves.
— Kul
THE BIG STORIES
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