SaladStop! Group, a Singapore-headquartered healthy food chain, has closed its Series B round of funding at SGD12 million (US$8.8 million) led by Temasek.
New investors Vulcan Capital, K3 Ventures, East Ventures, and returning investor DSG Consumer Partners also participated in the round.
The 12-year-old company will use the money to accelerate its digital transformation, including its investment in proprietary technologies. It also plans to scale the operations to four countries by 2025 and expand to second-tier cities through a cloud kitchen model.
SaladStop was founded in 2009 by the father-son duo of Daniel and Adrien Desbaillets and is co-headed by daughter Katherine and son-in-law Frantz Braha. The company seeks to disrupt the traditional fast food model by delivering healthy, nutritious menus to customers across Asia.
Its brands include SaladStop!, Heybo, Wooshi and GoodFoodPeople across a hybrid online/offline model, with 69 outlets across Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, and Spain. The firm has over 800 employees.
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The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the group’s push to digital, with over 50 per cent of sales today generated online and a substantial proportion through its direct channels.
It plans to deepen its footprint via new cloud kitchens, foster more tech-enabled growth with its proprietary technologies, and leverage its embedded ecosystem of food-tech partners.
Pursuing its mission to build a food solution for the future, SaladStop! will accelerate its investment into food sustainability, focusing on ingredient traceability and opening the group’s first net-zero outlet in 2022, aligning with Singapore’s 30×30 goals.
The group has already launched multiple initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint by offering plant-based foods, sustainably sourced ingredients, green packaging, and supporting reforestation programmes. Earlier this month, SaladStop launched Good Food People. This new plant-based online grocer offers alternative proteins in Singapore, ready-to-heat options, and homemade sauces, dressings, and other items.
Frantz Braha, chief growth officer of SaladStop! Group, said: “To achieve our ambitious growth strategy, we plan to deepen our roots in our existing markets while also expanding our footprint in selected new countries. We have built an extensive infrastructure across the region over the past few years.”
“We will continue to leverage our technological capabilities and proprietary cloud kitchen operating model to accelerate our growth in emerging markets. Today, we cater to an addressable market of 69 million people across 11 cities and aim to serve over twenty million meals by 2025, ” he added.
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Image Credit: SaladStop! Group
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