25/06/2019 – Indonesian brewed coffee-chain startup Kopi Kenangan announces today a fresh injection of funds worth US$20M from Sequoia India.
Founded in 2017 by Edward Tirtanata and James Prananto, the company is already profitable and plans to expand the serving of Indonesian style coffee across the Southeast Asia region, backed by the fresh fund. Meanwhile, in its home market, the startup plans to open up 150 outlets by the end of 2019, and down the pipeline in 2021, a total of 1000 outlets.
Currently, there are 80 Kopi Kenangan outlets in Indonesia spanning 8 cities, a big leap from the 16 outlets back in 2018.
“Our mission is to bring high-quality coffee, made with the freshest local ingredients to consumers across Indonesia – and the rest of Southeast Asia, too,” said Kopi Kenangan co-founder and CEO Edward Tirtanata.
Tirtanata added, “Indonesia is the world’s fourth-largest coffee exporter yet has the lowest coffee consumption per capita in the region because there is no large, affordable coffee chain with localized taste,”
The startup aims to fill in the gap between the high priced coffee served by international chains and instant coffees served by local street vendors. Creating a unique blend featuring local-sourced ingredients including a proprietary coffee blend from four different regions of Indonesia, fresh milk and organic palm sugar.
Focusing on providing a personalized experience, the company launched a Kopi Kenangan app back in April, marketing it as a personal barista who knows a customer’s coffee preference such as how sweet they like their coffee.
Incorporating tech into their business model, Kopi Kenangan customers can order a coffee for pick-up via their app, forgoing the queue time at their coffee kiosks. The coffee chain has also teamed up with food delivery services such as GrabFood and Go-food, delivering a dose of sweet caffeine right to customers’ doorstep.
“The majority of our order is consumed in takeaway format by the young generation who live an increasingly fast-paced life in urban areas. The idea is to bring a moment of delight to our customers every day, making Kopi Kenangan more than just a coffee brand — but part of the urban lifestyle,” said COO Prananto.
