Flash Coffee hires ex-foodpanda CEO in a bid to reach profitability in Indonesia

There’s no hiding that Singapore-headquartered Flash Coffee has had a few turbulent years.

Although the business is still headquartered in Singapore, Flash Coffee had liquidated its local operations last October. Founder and CEO David Brunier and director Sebastian Hannecker reportedly filed for a voluntary winding-up due to its liabilities on October 11.

Prior to these reports, baristas at Flash Coffee Jurong Point even allegedly initiated a “strike”, leading to the closure of the outlet.

This wasn’t the first time Flash Coffee made headlines for labour-related challenges. Back in November last year, the company downsized its headcount across its Singapore and Indonesia markets.

Following its liquidation, Flash Coffee also sold its Thai business, as well as left Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea.

All of these efforts seem to be a part of the business’ plans to reach profitability.

Presently, Flash Coffee is active only in Indonesia, where it has 67 outlets.

It was reported on August 31 that the coffee chain has hired ex-foodpanda CEO Jakob Angele as its executive chairman, adding to its efforts to hit profitability.

Road to profitability

The last round of funding that Flash Coffee closed was in May 2023, when they raised a total of US$50 million.

Vulcan Post reported that the funding will be used to accelerate the company’s mission to achieve group-level profitability, including sustainably growing its footprint across the Asia Pacific region, doubling down on technology and product innovation, and further developing the sales performance of existing stores.

While some of these plans might’ve gone awry (particularly regarding growth across the APAC region), Flash Coffee is still enroute to reaching profitability.

In an interview with Tech in Asia, Angele actually said that at the store level, the business was operationally profitable after marketing expenses.

“We currently don’t provide a timeline on group-level EBITDA, but with the strong results from H1, new menus, new stores, and strong operational focus, we are confident we will reach profitability soon,” he told Tech in Asia.

Angele also shared with the publication that Flash Coffee increased its revenue per store by more than 50% from February 2024 to June 2024, with 95% of their stores profitable on an EBITDA basis.

Creating a more welcoming space

During the Tech in Asia 2024 conference held in Kuala Lumpur, CEO David Brunier talked about wanting to create a more complete, sit-down experience rather than just having a grab-and-go concept.

Angele confirmed this in the interview with Tech in Asia, stating that Flash Coffee will be making their seating options more plentiful and comfortable.

Providing an improved instore experience might be critical in helping the business stand out in a competitive market.

In Indonesia, Kopi Kenangan reigns with around 868 outlets across 64 cities. Other prominent brands include Fore Coffee, Tomoro Coffee, and many other global chains.

Furthermore, Angele told Tech in Asia that he believes their pricing is well-positioned, with a medium to slightly high price point whereas brands like Kopi Kenangan enter the market with a lower price point.

With this pricing, the new executive chairman believes that the chain could grow to 300 or 400 outlets in Indonesia alone, all while running a “very profitable business”.

Not their first rodeo together

Before Angele’s appointment as Flash Coffee’s executive chairman, he had spent nine years at foodpanda, spending seven years as its CEO.  

It may be worth noting that Flash Coffee’s CEO, David Brunier, was actually the CMO for Asia Pacific at foodpanda prior to founding the coffee business.

The connections don’t stop there, as one of Flash Coffee’s investors is actually Delivery Hero, foodpanda’s parent company.

Speaking of investors, Angele was also a venture partner at VC firm White Star Capital, which led Flash Coffee’s aforementioned Series B round.

Some might recall that Angele has found himself in controversies previously. Last October, screenshots of private conversations between Angele and the woman he was dating with were leaked by the woman herself.

In these screenshots, Angele seemingly told his then-girlfriend about a potential confidential deal with Grab which was later leaked. She also shared that foodpanda’s lawyers allegedly told Angele to stop speaking to her due to the information leaks.

Speaking to Tech in Asia in June 2024, Angele said that he chose to share the information with someone who he “trusted a lot”, but later realised it was “a big mistake”.

Tech in Asia also reported that days prior to the leaked news of the confidential deal, the ex-foodpanda CEO actually obtained a court order that prohibited his former girlfriend from speaking out publicly about him.

However, she violated the court order by releasing the information via Instagram posts.

In any case, these events are in the past. Now, less than one year after the incident, Angele is starting a new chapter with Flash Coffee.

Featured Image Credit: Jakob Angele / Flash Coffee