Kopi Kenangan spills the beans on its 13x growth in 2019

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Coffee trends are interesting to watch because you can never guess what’s going to be the next hot thing. One moment people could be loving something as simple and fuss-free as cold brew, but by next month, they could be whipping up a storm trying to make dalgona coffee.

And in 2019, while we were wondering what would replace unicorn frappuccino, Indonesian coffee-tech startup Kopi Kenangan made a splash and grew exponentially in terms of revenue as well as the number of stores.

Today we look at:

• Kopi Kenangan’s annual revenue grew by 13x in 2019
• The almost US$1 billion Philippines-based fintech startup
• Other newsy highlights such as Nio going up against Tesla and Tencent pouring US$100 million into an online grocery startup

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Kopi Kenangan’s daily grind

Indonesian coffee lovers got themselves a new favorite brew in 2019. That year, tech-enabled beverage retailer Kopi Kenangan saw explosive growth, boosting its annual revenue by 13x to US$22.2 million compared to the previous year.

• Not Luckin Coffee: Launched in 2017, Kopi Kenangan has been operating in the black for two years. Valued at nearly US$500 million, the grab-and-go coffee chain grew from 16 stores in 2018 to 411 by the end of 2020.
• 2020’s depresso: To tackle the pandemic, Kopi Kenangan changed its tactics last year. The company opened stores in residential areas and prioritized improving online sales. This seemed to pay off as purchases through apps increased by more than 200% compared to 2019.
• Never too latte: Having said that, Kopi Kenangan expects to break its profitability streak and slip into losses in 2020. However, the firm remains confident that its business model is more resilient than brands like Starbucks that employ a “third-home” concept.

Full story with charts: Kopi Kenangan saw explosive growth in 2019 – and stayed profitable

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

The almost US$1 billion Philippines-based fintech startup