S’pore-based coffee tech startup Flash Coffee raises US$50M – targets profitability in 2024

Flash Coffee, a Singapore-based tech-enabled coffee chain, announced today (May 11) the successful completion of its Series B financing round led by White Star Capital, raising a total of US$50 million following its latest closing.

The round was participated in by existing investors, including Delivery Hero, Geschwister Oetker, and Conny & Co, with several of them increasing their stake in the company.

The funding will be used to accelerate the company’s mission to achieve group-level profitability, including sustainably growing its footprint across the Asia Pacific region, doubling down on technology and product innovation, and further developing the sales performance of existing stores.

It will also be channeled towards expanding deeper into Indonesia, the company’s most mature market, where the fast-growing middle class is rapidly driving coffee consumption in Southeast Asia’s most populous country.

Following its successful entry into Bandung — its first expansion outside of a capital city — Flash Coffee will be launching in Surabaya next in July 2023.

Strong growth since 2021

Flash Coffee has experienced exponential growth over the past two years, with a 23-fold increase in year-on-year revenue in 2021. This is followed by another four-fold year-on-year increase in 2022, while achieving more than 100 percentage points year-on-year EBITDA improvement on a group level in the same year.

With stores being “solidly profitable” across the region, the company is on track to reach group-level profitability in 2024, with the first markets set to become EBITDA positive in the coming months.

“With 100 per cent of our 92 stores in Indonesia being profitable, we have found a solid product market fit and are eager to expand our presence into additional cities in Indonesia to further drive sustainable growth,” said David Brunier, founder and CEO of Flash Coffee.

“Offering a product that people love and following our ongoing trajectory of topline and profitability improvements, we are confident that we will reach our overarching goal of being profitable on a group level next year.”

Flash Coffee is well-positioned to become a leading coffee chain in the region, with a mission to broaden access to premium coffee for consumers across Asia using the power of technology. The brand has resonated strongly with its audience, and investors are excited to support the company’s continued growth and progress towards profitability.

Featured Image Credit: Flash Coffee