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Hi reader,
While staying home because of the Covid-19 pandemic, my wife and I likely tried every single e-grocery platform available in our Jakarta suburb – from GrabMart to Sayurbox and lately, Astro.
But interestingly, the one service that got stickier was WhatsApp. (And I’m talking about the rudimentary app, not the zhuzhed-up service they’re talking about in India.)
The supermarket we frequent has a WhatsApp account, so we message them our shopping list and an employee rings up the purchases. After paying via the Bank Central Asia mobile app, we book a GoSend driver who ferries it to our garage.
Somehow, it felt easier to do that than to use an e-grocery app. But now that pandemic-era restrictions have largely been lifted, why not just go to the supermarket in person?
It goes without saying that things have become much harder for companies like HappyFresh.
As a VC told me the other day, the question becomes: “What is the business’ reason for existing?” Is there still a need for this product or service, especially when there are no incentives attached?
HappyFresh is not the only e-grocery player facing struggles. But being one of the older, more established names in the sector means that all eyes will be on them.
— Putra Muskita, journalist at Tech in Asia
Top stories this week
Image credit: Timmy Loen
1️. HappyFresh in limbo with delayed salaries and ‘inactive’ top execs
The news comes just over a year after the company raised US$65 million in a series D round.
2. Startup allegedly lied about Apple, LVMH investment; axed most of its staff
The CEO of Singapore-based Aaqua also came under fire for berating an employee in a virtual forum.
3. Binance’s big BUSD push heralds a stablecoin summer
Amid a crypto winter, signs are emerging that we’ll see a flowering of stablecoins in the market.
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