Vertex Ventures leads series A round of Indonesia-based packaging startup

Tjetak, an Indonesia-based packaging startup, said it has secured an undisclosed amount in a series A fundraise led by Vertex Ventures. Prior to this round, it received seed funding from some angel investors.

Tjetak founders (from left): Raffisal Damanhuri, Anggara Pranaspati, and Hasandi Patriawan / Photo credit: Tjetak

Founded in 2018, the startup helps merchants and online sellers by providing various types of packaging, from cardboard and snack boxes to paper bags and plastic cups.

Indonesian unicorn Tokopedia also entered this space by launching Tokopedia Print several months ago. Printing startup like Printerous also have a similar service.

Tjetak said it plans to allocate the new funds to expand its operations, add employees, and develop new features. It also wants to improve the capacity of its laboratory and packaging facilities.

What problem is it solving? According to co-founder Anggara Pranaspati, current practices in the packaging industry are opaque. “Clients are finding it difficult to predict production time and might incur losses when the production is not on time for any reason,” he says.

Tjetak tries to make the system more transparent through an online platform and offering a service that Pranaspati claims can calculate prices up to 70% faster than manual methods.

“Tjetak facilitates supply and demand, [allowing] customers to conduct price showcasing and design as well as production and delivery with clarity and transparency. This has already resulted in significant efficiency in generating quotations and pricing, and faster design and production turnaround time,” said Joo Hock Chua, managing partner of Vertex Ventures SEA.

How much traction has it gotten? Tjetak says it produces 5 million packages per month on average. It serves clients in various industries, such as food and beverage, ecommerce, logistics, and pharmaceuticals. It counts healthtech platform Halodoc, ecommerce player Alfacart, and boba drink brand Tiger Sugar, as its customers.

What are the opportunities and challenges? In 2018, the plastic and paper packaging industry in Indonesia was worth US$7.74 billion.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also pushed more people in Indonesia to do online transactions. As such, merchants need more packaging to ensure safe delivery and to enhance their brand. Tokopedia says it saw a 250% increase in the number of sellers that joined its platform in March.

The challenge for Tjetak is to develop a platform that can be used by all kinds of businesses in Indonesia, from small and medium-sized enterprises to big firms. But for now, the startup is targeting big enterprise clients.

What are its future plans? Tjetak plans to create an environment-friendly packaging for customers pursuing a green lifestyle. “We also aim to develop technology that can build the structure and graphic design needed to meet the various types of packaging sought by clients,” Pranaspati says.

The startup also prints name cards and flyers, but it wants to focus on producing packages for now.