Ex-Honestbee, Foodpanda exec’s new cloud kitchen startup banks $1.2m in seed funding

More than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, Taiwan’s food and beverage industry continues to be pummeled as the island presses on in implementing measures to curb the virus’ spread.

However, a study from The Business Research Company expects the global F&B market to grow from almost US$2.8 trillion in 2020 – 47% of which came from the Asia Pacific – to about US$3.3 trillion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate of 18.5%.

Victor Chow, a past executive at food delivery platforms Honestbee and Foodpanda, believes that this recovery can also be found in the clouds. With his new startup, 3 Square, Chow looks to help F&B operators by providing local businesses with cloud kitchen solutions, including digital food hall networks.

The 3 Square team / Photo credit: 3 Square

Now, the company said it has secured US$1.2 million in an oversubscribed seed round from local department store chain Hanshin and foodtech VC firm Foodland Ventures to scale its business in Taiwan and enter more markets in Southeast Asia and North Asia.

“With Covid-19 leading to the closure of restaurants and bars, many restaurant owners are looking for an alternative to the traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant business model in order to cope with the significant shift in consumer demand from dine in to delivery,” he said.

3 Square’s first location can be found in the center of Taipei City, with twenty restaurant brands available for delivery, takeaway, and dine in. Popular restaurant partners include new brands from the Michelin-starred Mume Group and 30-year-old night market standout Shi Yuan Taiwanese Fried Chicken. The startup also has a virtual restaurant group with six in-house brands.

According to the company, it’s now preparing for its next round of funding to help fuel the expansion of 300 brands in the 3 Square ecosystem across the region.