East Ventures leads $18.1m round of Indonesian F&B firm

Ismaya Group, an Indonesia-based F&B company, has raised US$18.1 million in a funding round led by East Ventures, with participation from existing investor Falcon House Partners.

The company plans to use the fresh funds to support its expansion and improve its food delivery business.

Ismaya Group CEO Bram Hendrata / Photo credit: Ismaya Group

Founded in 2003, Ismaya Group operates over 100 restaurants, lounges, and festivals in Indonesia and Dubai.

The company said it is committed to creating lifestyle concepts in major cities in Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and globally, especially amid the reopening of the economy post-pandemic.

“For more than two years, the Covid-19 pandemic has left people being cooped up, creating a sense of pent-up frustration from lockdowns, work from home, physical distancing, and other restrictions. These severely disrupted the F&B industry,” said Ismaya Group CEO Bram Hendrata.

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To overcome the Covid-19 crisis, the company has shifted focus toward food delivery. It said that its productivity and profitability have increased by at least 30% from March to May this year compared to the same period in 2019.

East Ventures had earlier invested in several F&B companies, including Indonesian online-to-offline coffee startup Fore Coffee, Singapore-based food surplus marketplace ThreeDots, and coffee tech startup Morning.