The e-grocery startup of ex-Grab, Traveloka execs bags seed money in Beenext-led round

Indonesian online grocery company Segari said it has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding in a round led by Beenext.

AC Ventures and Saison Capital, along with other angel investors, also contributed to the round, which the startup claims is one of the largest seed funding rounds in Indonesia’s fresh grocery space.

Photo credit: Segari

Out of the total ecommerce gross merchandise value in Indonesia, groceries account for only a small portion, and local consumers, according to Segari, are still reluctant to shop for fresh produce and grocery products online despite Covid-19.

Surveys have suggested that consumers do not fully trust online transactions for fresh produce, fearing that they may receive poor quality items, the company added. Segari aims to address the issue and build its infrastructure to focus on quality, said its CEO Yosua Setiawan, who previously worked at Traveloka.

The e-grocery platform leverages its micro-warehouses and network of “thousands of” agents around Jakarta to help move its products while maintaining quality.

Segari’s chief operating officer, Farand Anugerah, who served as Grab’s head of new business, claims his company takes 15 hours from harvest to customers’ home for green vegetables. “This involves extreme operational complexity. Because we do not keep inventory, we need to generate tight forecasting of customer demand and balance it with the harvesting schedules of our farmers,” he added.

Indonesia’s e-grocery market is currently valued at around US$1 billion and is expected to hit US$6 billion by 2025.

Some local players in the space include Vertex Ventures-backed HappyFresh and Tanihub, which raised US$17 million in a series A+ round co-led by Openspace Ventures and Intudo Ventures last year.