Foodpanda acquires Singapore-Dine
Local food delivery service Singapore-Dine has been acquired by Foodpanda, a global food delivery marketplace, for an undisclosed sum.
Foodpanda adds restaurants in Singapore like Tony Roma's, Subway, 4Fingers and California Pizza Kitchen to its list of about 500 restaurants that offer home delivery service here.
Foodpanda Singapore managing director Emma Heap told The Straits Times that restaurant owners can increase capacity by using the online channel to reach more customers.
"Food delivery has high overheads including manpower and marketing costs. We help restaurant owners to reach new customers without the expensive option of opening new outlets."
Indian Curry House, for example, was able to increase its profits by 30 per cent since joining Foodpanda, said Ms Heap.
HappyFresh gets $17m in funds
Jakarta-based online grocery platform HappyFresh has raised US$12 million (S$17 million) in a round led by Singapore's Vertex Venture Holdings and Sinar Mas Digital Ventures, the venture arm of Indonesia's Sinar Mas Group. Other investors include local and foreign venture capital firms, including Asia Venture Group, Beenext, Ardent Capital, 500 Startups and Cherry Ventures.
The funds will be used for business expansion to Bangkok, Taipei and Manila. Its service went live in March this year in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.
Unlike an e-grocer, HappyFresh does not carry any inventory - it works with supermarkets to put their goods online.
Said chief executive Markus Bihler: "Our unique proposition is that our customers can order fresh food from us. We promise next hour delivery."
Personal shoppers stationed at supermarkets will pick fresh meat, vegetables and groceries once the orders are placed online. The produce is placed in custom-made thermal bags and delivered. HappyFresh works with delivery services to deliver within an hour of the order being placed, or at a time the customer chooses.
The start-up gets a commission for each transaction. Without disclosing figures, it said revenue has grown every month since March.
"We provide convenience for people who don't want to be stuck in traffic jams just to shop for food. That's why we're targeting congested cities like Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and Manila," said Mr Bihler in Singapore last week.
Its data shows that two-thirds of the customers are women and 80 per cent of them are locals. The majority of items sold are for meals planned for more than two people.
MoohlahSense helped SMEs raise $2.3m
Local crowdfunding platform MoohlahSense has helped 10 small and medium-sized enterprises to raise $2.3 million in working capital since it started business in November last year.
MoolahSense is one of the earliest crowdfunding platforms here. Its loans range from $100,000 to nearly $250,000.
For example, elderly day care centre Goldencare raised $143,000 from 57 investors to support its operations in providing nursing, rehabilitation and home care services to the elderly.
Grace Chng
• Send news on start-up developments to chngkeg@sph.com.sg
