The Series A round fundraising total for Secai Marche, a Japan-based startup that links farmers with Southeast Asian restaurants and shops directly, has increased to US$3.4 million with the receipt.
Toru Yamamoto, co-CEO of Foodison, Tsuneishi Shoji, Fukuoka Sonoriku, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Beyond Next Ventures, Spiral Ventures Asia, and Future Food Fund are among the investors.
The fresh tranche comes after The Agribusiness Investment & Consultation, Spiral Ventures Asia Fund I, and Beyond Next Ventures raised US$1.6 million in January 2023.
Secai Marche, founded in 2019 by Sugiyama and Shusaku Hayakawa, provides a marketplace where F&B establishments and retailers may buy premium items directly from farmers and fishermen at affordable costs.
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Over 4,000 products (fresh produce, fruit, eggs, chilled seafood, etc.) are sourced directly from farmers in Southeast Asia and Japan by the online grocery platform. Since its founding, it has collaborated with more than 1,300 shops and HORECA clients.
“In response to the rapid growth of the restaurant industry in Southeast Asia and the increasing demand for high-quality, cost-competitive services in Malaysia and Singapore, we will use the funds to expand our fulfilment centres, enhance the accuracy of demand forecasts using AI, and automate and optimise the last-mile deliveries,” Secai Marche co-founder and CEO Ami Sugiyama told,“We also plan to allocate the funds for system development and marketing activities. This fundraising will serve as a starting point for rapidly expanding our market share in Southeast Asia,” she added.
By 2025, the e-commerce market in Southeast Asia is expected to grow to a value of over US$240 billion. However, because of inadequate refrigerated logistics networks (such as cold chains from producers to consumers and small-scale collection and delivery operations), e-commerce has lagged in the fresh food industry.
“By providing a consistent fulfilment service with Japanese quality to many small and medium-sized businesses and producers having no refrigerated logistics capabilities, we are rapidly advancing the e-commerce of fresh food in Southeast Asia,” added Sugiyama.
Producers who have their own chilled logistics capabilities have been the only ones selling directly to consumers via e-commerce since the COVID-19 outbreak.
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The agritech company raised US$1.5 million from Japanese venture capital companies Rakuten Ventures and Beyond Next Ventures in a pre-Series A fundraising round in 2021.
About Secai Marche
Secai Marche is a Japanese/Malaysian farm-direct internet portal. Hoteliers, restaurants, and home cooks in Kuala Lumpur buy from small-scale Japanese and Malaysian farms.They provide direct market access to small farms to boost their bottom line.
