Kopi Kenangan, an Indonesian food and beverage startup, has been designated as a Unicorn. Congrats! This status was obtained after Kopi Kenangan received a Series C funding injection of 96 million US dollars or approximately Rp. 1.3 trillion, for the First Phase. To clarify, the term "Unicorn" refers to startups or companies with a valuation of up to one billion US dollars or Rp. 14.2 trillion. Edward Tirtanata, the CEO and Co-Founder of Kopi Kenangan, claims that his company has become the first Unicorn New Retail F&B (food and beverage) company in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

 

 

 

 

 

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"The support from our investors since the beginning as well as new investors is evidence and motivation for us to continue to focus on increasing store productivity by utilizing technology to create the best experience for every customer," Edward said, as quoted by Kontan.co.id on Monday (27/12/2021). Tybourne Capital Management led the Series C funding, followed by several previous series investors, including Horizons Ventures, Kunlun, B Capital, and a new investor, Falcon Edge Capital.

With this latest investment, Kopi Kenangan intends to accelerate the expansion of its products branded Stories Roti, Chigo, and Kenangan Manis throughout Indonesia. They also plan to expand their coffee shop network into the international market. "Our vision is to become Southeast Asia's most beloved brand," Edward explained. "In addition, we are committed to rapidly expanding our reach to thousands of outlets in Southeast Asia over the next five years, while complementing our portfolio with products that can meet market needs," Edward says.

Kopi Kenangan was founded by Edward Tirtanata, James Prananto, and Cynthia Chaerunnisa in 2017. They were opening their first branch in a Jakarta office building. According to data released by KrAsia on Thursday (27/8/2020), the company sold 700 cups of coffee on the first day. Within a few months, the coffee shop had turned a profit. This success eventually drew investment from Alpha JWC, which provided US$8 million in start-up capital in 2018, Kopi Kenangan stole coffee lovers from the entire of its beginning. Currently, Kopi Kenangan has become "Kenangan Brands" and employs more than 3,000 staff in more than 600 outlets in 45 cities in Indonesia. Over the past 12 months, Kopi Kenangan claims to have served 40 million cups. They are optimistic that in the first quarter of 2022, Kopi Kenangan will serve 5.5 million cups per month.

What if a startup to be a unicorn?

In the venture capital industry, a "unicorn" is a privately held startup company with a valuation of more than $1 billion. Aileen Lee, the founder of Cowboy Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital fund based in Palo Alto, California, popularized the term first.

A unicorn is what most people in the financial world refer to as a privately owned startup with a valuation greater than $1 billion. Home-sharing giant Airbnb, video game company Epic Games, and fintech companies Robinhood and SoFi are among the more well-known unicorns based in the United States.

In her article "Welcome to the Unicorn Club: Learning from Billion-Dollar Startups," Aileen Lee first wrote about unicorns in the venture capital world. She examined software startups founded in the 2000s and estimated that only 0.07 percent of them ever achieved $1 billion valuations. She says that startups that have raised $1 billion are so rare that finding one is as difficult as finding a mythical unicorn.

Since the publication of Lee's article, the term has come to refer to startups in the technology, mobile technology, and information technology sectors—typically at the intersection of all three—with extremely high valuations that are not supported by their fundamental finances.

In a blog post, Benchmark Capital partner and investment guru Bill Gurley discussed the difference between late-stage private capital fundraising and an IPO, stating that "an unprecedented 80 private companies have raised financings at valuations over $1B" since the 2010s, and that "late-stage investors, desperate for shareholding positions in possible 'unicorn' companies, have essentially abandoned their traditional risk analysis."