Jakarta’s Berry Kitchen raises US$1.25mil in Series A

• ‘Bento model’ allows users to mix and match food to create their own menus
• Targets aggressive expansion, aiming to grow business 5x by next June

JAKARTA-based culinary startup Berry Kitchen said it has secured US$1.25 million of Series A funding from Sovereign’s Capital, a US-based venture capital firm that is focused on early growth-stage investments in Indonesia and other select markets.
 
Existing investor East Ventures also participated in the round, Berry Kitchen said in a statement. It now aims to grow its business five-fold by June 2016.
 
“Berry Kitchen is a new and fresh concept, and its technology platform for scaling alongside a lean approach to ‘full-stack’ integration is compelling,” said Sovereign’s Capital cofounder and managing principal Luke Roush.
 
“We believe that this concept is something that a lot of Jakartans are looking for – high-quality food, at a reasonable price, delivered right to your doorstep,” he added.
 
Berry Kitchen has a ‘bento model’ which allows users to mix and match food to create their own lunch or dinner menus, covering Indonesian, Chine and Western cuisine.
 
In June last year, it announced an undisclosed seed investment by Singapore-headquartered East Ventures.
 
With the Series A funding, Berry Kitchen said it has set a very high target for its business.
 
“Within a year, we aim to serve five times as many people per day. We will open additional kitchens to help achieve this target, which will expand our geographic reach well beyond where it is today,” said cofounder and chief executive officer Cynthia Tenggara (pic).
 
The company said that what sets it apart from other catering services is its unique credit system.
 
To be able to order from Berry Kitchen, customers must first buy a certain amount of credit. For example, 260,000 rupiah will get them 50 credits, which is equal to approximately 10 lunch boxes.
 
After they receive their credit, customers can then select their meal combination every day – or whenever they feel like it. A typical lunch box will cost about five to eight credits, depending on the choice of menu.
 
Berry Kitchen also recently introduced a ready-to-cook menu, similar to the Blue Apron concept in the United States.
 
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