Kopi Kenangan nets $109m in Sequoia-led series B round

Kopi Kenangan, an Indonesian tech-enabled beverage retailer, announced that it has raised US$109 million in a series B funding round led by existing investor Sequoia Capital.

B Capital, Horizons Ventures, Verlinvest, Kunlun, Sofina, and Alpha JWC Ventures also participated in the round.

Photo credit: Kopi Kenangan

The company plans to use the new funds to strengthen its operations in Indonesia, launch new products, invest in technology, and protect employees amid the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a statement.

Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook, will also be joining Kopi Kenangan’s board of directors.

Kopi Kenangan was launched in 2017 to fill a market gap between the high-priced coffee served at international coffee chains and the instant coffee sold at street stalls.

The company employs a new retail model that combines online with an offline system: Customers can place their orders through an app, then visit the stores to collect their orders or have them delivered to their doorstep.

From being a coffee-centric grab-and-go chain, the company has evolved the business to include other Southeast Asian favorites such as boba or bubble tea, which recently became a top-seller in its stores.

It also plans to offer food and beverage products from local merchants and its cloud kitchens.

Kopi Kenangan said it is committed to helping local F&B entrepreneurs with technology, investment, and mentorship through the food accelerator program Digitarasa. It has also set up a new training academy to reskill baristas and workers in the F&B sector.

The company said it currently operates 324 stores across Indonesia, reaching over a million customers through its mobile app. It expects to have 500 stores by the end of 2020, with new stores expected to open in the post-pandemic period in Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

Its series B round comes less than six months after it raised an extended series A round from Jay-Z’s Arrive, Serena Ventures, basketball player Caris LeVert, and Sweetgreen CEO and co-founder Jonathan Neman, among others. It secured US$20 million in a series A round led by Sequoia Capital in July last year.