Flash Coffee- Singapore’s tech-enabled coffee startup raises US$15 million funding to fuel its expansion in Asia

Singapore-based tech-enabled coffee chain, Flash Coffee has raised US$15 million in a recent funding round led by White Star Capital. Other participants in the financing round included Global Founders Capital, Delivery Hero-backed DX Ventures, and Conny&Co.

The tech-enabled coffee chain now operates across 50 locations in Singapore, Jakarta, and Bangkok. Despite the pandemic, the startup has reveled in strong traction in the coffee market with most of its stores already reaching profitability and indicating the success of its business model.

The startup’s disruptive grab-and-go feature at the core of its business model fits in perfectly in this pandemic-driven world. This feature allows for significant cost savings to be passed on to the customers. Flash Coffee aims to have its presence every 500 meters in all major cities in the region. Presently the startup is opening new outlets at an ambitious pace of three outlets per week which it plans to triple to almost 10 stores per week to meet its target of 300 additional stores in the region by the end of this year.

The fresh funding will enable the startup to tie together the untapped potential in Asia and replicate its successful business model in seven new markets in 2021- South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Flash Coffee also plans to set up its regional headquarters in Singapore and expand its regional tech hub in Indonesia to 50 people. This will help the startup in fully leveraging technology to improve customer experience and increase operational efficiency significantly while proactively driving growth.

Coffee has been a go-to drink in the Southeast Asian region since almost a third of coffee is produced here, giving easy access to coffee beans. With a plethora of local coffee stores and cafes at every corner of the region, coffee has become an affordable and accessible drink with a huge fan following. Flash coffee envisions dominating the offline-dominated coffee segment.

The startup’s newly launched app claims a streamlined pick-up feature, personalized promotions, sophisticated loyalty programme, and interactive challenges. The ‘barista app’ increases the operational efficiency of the startup’s stores and allows performance-based incentives for its users, confirming an unmatched consumer experience.

About Flash Coffee

The Rocket Internet-backed startup was founded in 2020 by David Bruneir, CEO and Sebastian Hannecke, COO& CFO to make premium coffee accessible to Asia’s middle class.

The startup blends an award-winning coffee menu at affordable prices. Consumers can order their favorite beverages by ordering and paying online through the Flash Coffee app and then pick up their order from the startups nearby iconic yellow stores or have it delivered to the doorstep.

Flash Coffee’s menu has been curated by World Latte Art Champion Arnon Thitiprasert- the drinks are made with 100% Arabica Coffee beans and premium ingredients. Flash coffee’s Nutella Latte, Avo Latte, and Lychee Espresso Soda are some of its highly addictive signature drinks.