Vietnam’s Kamereo bags $4.6m to boost food sourcing platform

Kamereo, a Vietnam-based food technology startup, announced raising $4.6 million in a Series A funding round co-anchored by CPF Group, Quest Ventures, and Genesia Ventures.

The startup, which is Vietnam’s first-ever technology-enabled supplier for restaurants, hotels, cafes, retail shops, and offices, said it will use the new funding to increase its manpower, expand its reach to Hanoi in 2022, build a new warehouse management system, and continuously upgrade the user experience of its website and mobile app.

Kamereo was launched by Japanese expatriate Taku Tanaka in 2018 to redefine the food business by letting hefts and restaurateurs focus on serving the best culinary experience to customers while leaving the nitty-gritty of supplier negotiations, order processing, and management to the Kamereo team.

Before launching the foodtech startup, Taku had held the role of COO at restaurant chain Pizza 4Ps, where he helped the brand grow from just one location in Ho Chi Minh City to ten stores nationwide in just three years.

Currently, the startup has about a hundred employees serving more than 400 active customers who buy regularly from the platform.

Kamereo said it has grown by 15% every month in the last 12 months despite mobility restrictions and temporary closure of some businesses. It attributes its rapid success to the surging local F&B industry, which has shown a steady compound annual growth rate of 10+%, among others.

“Kamereo sits in one of the largest food production hubs of Southeast Asia, and there is much room to grow in solving many of the inefficiencies of the supply chain today, improving farmers’ livelihood outcomes and procuring the best products for businesses and homes,” said Goh Yiping, partner at Quest Ventures.

“Together, we are helping and elevating F&B entrepreneurs with hygienic, tasty, and innovative food as they strive to do better for their customers,” added Montri Suwanposri, CEO of C.P. Vietnam Corporation.