Jakarta’s HappyFresh raises US$12mil in Series A

• Led by Vertex Ventures and Sinar Mas Digital Ventures, 500 Startups involved
• Founded in Oct 2014, now present in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan

JAKARTA-based online grocery company HappyFresh said it has completed a Series A funding round led by Vertex Ventures, the venture arm of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, and Sinar Mas Digital Ventures (SMDV), the venture arm of Sinar Mas Group of Indonesia.
 
Other investors participating include Asia Venture Group, BeeNext, Ardent Capital, 500 Startups and Cherry Ventures, the startup said in a statement.
 
After having launched its next-hour online grocery delivery service in March in Indonesia and Malaysia, HappyFresh said it has since expanded its operations to Thailand and Taiwan as well.
 
“We are very happy to partner with Vertex – one of the strongest and most reputable investors across South-East Asia – and SMDV, which is affiliated with Sinar Mas, one of Indonesia’s most established industrial groups,” said cofounder and chief executive officer Markus Bihler (pic).
 
“We are looking forward to benefitting from their strong networks to further expand our footprint across South-East Asia.
 
“We will continue to invest in enhancing our product and service offering to our partners and customers,” he added.
 
Founded in October 2014, HappyFresh partners with retail chains to bring customers a varied selection of items at a range of price points. Its app is available for the Android and iOS platforms.
 
In its statement, it said its professionally trained ‘personal shoppers’ pick the best products, while its on-demand logistics network allows for next-hour delivery.
 
“This is a business model which clearly benefits the supermarkets and the consumers. Its capital efficient model allows it to scale easily and very quickly,” said Vertex Ventures managing director Joo Hock Chua, who will join the board of HappyFresh.
 
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