JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - Green Butcher, a consumer startup focused on Indonesian plant-based foods, has received a fresh an initial funding US$2 million led by Singapore-based venture capital Teja Ventures and several global investors such as Unovis Asset Management. The investor invested in Green Butcher’ affiliated company, Burgreens, which is a burger based on organic food.
Beside the two investors, also joined SavEarth Fund that support by James and Suzie Cameron, a famous Hollywood director couple, Phi Trust, C4D, and a number of individual investors. A number of investors focused on alternative proteins also joined the round, including Elisa Khong, Simon Newstead and Michal Klar.
The food-maker was founded by Max Mandias and Helga Angelina, who also founder of Burgreens. They produces an alternative to chicken and plant-based meat as well as plant-based protein foods. It said the funds will be used to create a range of plant-based meat products, which are made using mushrooms, genetically modified organism-free soy protein, and green beans.
“This new funding will help us expand our research and development team, increase the production, and roll out to major retailers in second quarter of 2021,” said Angelina, co-founder and CEO of Green Butcher, in an official statement released today (02/09).
On Feb. 1, 2021, the company has partnered with coffee giant Starbucks Indonesia, which is operated by retail manager, PT Mitra Adiperkasa Tbk (IDX: MAPI), sell vegetable meat products in more than 50 locations in Greater Jakarta and Bali.
CEO of BRI Ventures Nicko Widjaja, rated that investments in Indonesian startups are projected to grow double from $2.5 billion to $5 billion in this year. Indonesia is still the main destination for venture capital investment for the Southeast Asia region and the center of the digital economy in Asia, which is projected to grow by over 10 percent compared to 2020.
Various sectors will continue to grow included e-commerce and marketplace, online media, and financial technology (FinTech), he adds. According to him, almost all funding for startups in Indonesia is first accommodated in holding companies which are generally based in Singapore.
Indonesia is also projected to become the center of growth and investment for startups in Asia and Southeast Asia because China’ digital economy is starting to become saturated with the emergence of market monopoly and duopoly tendencies by startup giants like Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings Ltd. While, the digital economies of Japan and South Korea are not developing much.
Indonesia has great capital and potential for the development of the digital economy because it has 196 million internet users out of 400 million internet users in Southeast Asia. In addition, Indonesia currently has five out of 12 unicorns in Southeast Asia
Written by Editorial Staff, Email: theinsiderstories@gmail.com
