Vietnamese AgriTech startup FoodMap raises US$3 million funding in Series A round

Vietnam-based AgriTech ecommerce platform FoodMap has raised US$3 million in funding in a Series A round led by Beenext and Vulpes Venture. The funding round was also joined Ascend Vietnam Ventures and existing investor Wavemaker Partners.

Founded in 2020 by Pham Ngoc Anh Tung, FoodMap’s platform connects farmers and food producers directly to B2C and B2B customers. It aims to solve the demand and supply gap across the invisible supply chain.

Diving Deeper

Vietnam largely remains an agricultural country despite significant growth in technology. With 20 percent of the population working in agriculture and related areas the country still has some critical pain points that exist. The multiple middle-men layers lead to 6-7x mark up prices for end-users and absence of quality control in food production resulting in low export prices and lack of consumer’s trust.

FoodMap addresses these problem areas by leveraging technology.

“FoodMap wants to help both sides of the equation by optimizing the production process, increasing the value of Vietnamese food and increasing visibility across the supply chain to strengthen customer confidence. We are currently focusing on fresh products, seafood, selected meat, ready to cook and non-perishable products”, said Tung.

Presently the startup supplies products from more than 300 producers and farmers. Its platform gives access to its product through mobile app and an ecommerce platform. All products that are listed on the company’s website come with a QR code.

FoodMap increases farmers’ income by about 10-20 percent for their raw materials while decreasing inept margins across several layers of middlemen. Furthermore, it gives farmers insights and analyzes for future harvest planning.

For suppliers, the company brings their history and brand to the online consumers and starts digitalizing sales.

“One thing that sets FoodMap apart from other foodtech players is our deep understanding of consumers’ tastes and the construction of products accordingly to their private label offerings. This helps generate high margin, brand loyalty and exclusivity as competitive advantages”, Tung added.

FoodMap presently has five private label products including ready to cook, fruit, tea and coffee, seafood, and chocolate, which generates the company’s top-line margin.

The startup plans to increase its B2B presence and on the B2C side, the company has recently launched a group buying affiliate program to allow social sales among its users.