Indonesia’s Dropezy drops quick commerce, pivots to poultry

Photo credit: Sekilo

In Indonesia, the once-booming quick commerce has since fizzled out. East Ventures-backed Bananas, for instance, closed shop in October 2022 after failing to find viable unit economics.

Dropezy, another quick commerce startup, had announced its intentions to pivot around the same time after shutting down its roughly 20 dark stores across Greater Jakarta. Now, the move is official: The company has rebranded to Sekilo and is now in the poultry processing and distribution business.

The firm aims to digitalize the value chain and establish a fulfillment infrastructure that can ensure “seamless” experiences for B2B buyers, noting the “highly” fragmented B2B supply chain for poultry. It primarily focuses on the downstream part of the supply chain by sourcing poultry from across the Java island and bringing them to its customers.

Sekilo’s target market includes small and medium-sized food businesses; hotel, restaurant, and catering chains; and e-grocery startups. It also accepts personalized orders, whether they are 25-kilogram deliveries for SMEs or orders as big as 10 tons.

“In late 2022, as profitability became our focal point, we delved into our data and uncovered the vast potential within the protein category,” said Chandni Chainani, the startups’ co-founder and CEO, highlighting the category’s “low wastage, high shelf life, soaring demand, and profit margins.”

The company is also exploring collaborations with third-party fintech platforms to provide buy now, pay later options.

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Sekilo’s entry comes amid a turbulent time in B2B ecommerce. That said, poultry startups have also risen in Indonesia: Alpha JWC-backed Pitik, for instance, said its revenue jumped 20x in October 2022.

It’s unclear whether Sekilo is raising new funds. Dropezy had raised a US$2.5 million pre-series A round in late 2021, after which it joined Y Combinator’s Winter 2022 cohort.