Fundraise targeted toward expansion, path to profitability
Malaysian independent online grocery services provider MyGroser announced today that it is raising its first public round of financing through a rolling close, with the aim of becoming profitable within a year and expanding within Malaysia.
According to the statement, the round will also help the startup cater to growing customer demand, which it has secured through strategic partnerships for the next 24 months.
The startup sees a clear path to profitability based on its tech solutions stack, end to end supply chain management, in-house delivery and handling teams, and a rapidly growing market.
MyGroser has been functioning with increased daily delivery slots throughout the duration of Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO), a partial lockdown which took effect on March 18 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections, the statement said.
Chief Executive Officer of MyGroser Stephen P. Francis said in the statement that the startup has seen the demand for its grocery delivery services grow by a massive 1000%. In the past two months, which coincide with the MCO, Francis noted that MyGroser’s revenues and number of daily deliveries grew 10X.
“On the back of this, we are accelerating our expansion plans to better meet the demand for convenient, fresh and affordable produce, everyday essentials and groceries that we are seeing from our consumer and business customers,” he added.
With its own dedicated delivery and handling teams, cloud stores, and its own solutions stack (including inventory, warehousing, customer management and routing solutions), the 2019-founded startup is prepared for expansion across Malaysia, the statement said.
Along with regional expansion, MyGroser’s three year plans also involve machine learning-based supply chain management, product development, and new membership options.
While already growing in market size, the demand for online grocery and food delivery surged after countries across the world imposed lockdown measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nearly half of respondents in a survey conducted in Malaysia reportedly had more food and groceries delivered to their home in March (when the MCO was instated) compared to a month before.
Additionally, 17% of Malaysians ordered food for the first time via an app in the week after the MCO came into place. Several online grocery channels including MyGroser, HappyFresh, Lazada and Jaya Grocer have reported a spike in online orders.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN online) grocery services market is fairly populated with startups such as HappyFresh, Lalamove and the cash-strapped HonestBee, with an occasional big name such as Tesco Online entering the mix.
However, given that the ASEAN retail grocery market size worth over $60 billion, the online segment is estimated to hold less than 5% market share, creating ample room for opportunity.
Header image courtesy of MyGroser
