TiffinLabs hires more tech alumni, sees Malaysia as key growth market

DIGITAL restaurant group TiffinLabs, founded by real estate magnate Kishin RK, is beefing up its leadership ranks with tech and food and beverage (F&B) executives as it gears up for growth, particularly in Malaysia.

The company has made 5 new key appointments, it told The Business Times (BT) on Monday (Nov 22). This comes as Soon Sze Meng, who was JD.com's South-east Asia president, is set to helm TiffinLabs as chief executive from Jan 1, 2022.

Among the latest hires is Jason Koven as head of operations. Koven is moving to a regional role after setting up business operations in Malaysia, which TiffinLabs cited as a "key growth market". Other key markets for the company include Thailand and the US. Koven is experienced in franchising and operations across South-east Asia and China, with brands including Tony Roma's, Morganfield's and Teh Tarik Place, the company added.

Another key hire is Connie Sun as head of marketing, to drive brand and product development. Sun was leading food marketing at RBI, the owner of Burger King and Popeyes, in the US, Canada, Japan and South Korea. She also worked in growth strategy at Indonesian coffee startup Kopi Kenangan, her LinkedIn profile shows.

TiffinLabs has also appointed a head of finance, Chin Wei Koh, who previously led Series C and D fundraising rounds at Indonesian grocery delivery startup Happy Fresh. Other additions are: Melissa Soh, who was part of the launch team at Amazon Fresh, as TiffinLabs' chief of staff and head of strategic initiatives; and Raymond Soh, formerly of Publicis Sapient, as head of people.

TiffinLabs' growth plans follow recent funding. The company has raised S$7 million from KRK Capital, Phillip Private Equity, NewcrestImage and Hibiscus Fund, a partnership between RHL Ventures and KB Investment. The latest leadership hires, including Soon, are filling newly-created roles. "The appointed leaders come with deep experience in F&B, technology, e-commerce and supply chain management. Their appointment will accelerate TiffinLabs' goal of capturing the next wave of growth for our F&B partners," said TiffinLabs co-founder and president for South-east Asia Phuminant Tantiprasongchai. 

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TiffinLabs' expansion in South-east Asia will be led by Phuminant, while the company's other co-founder and president for the US market, Shaun Smithson, will be drive its growth there.

Kishin also runs RB Capital, which manages US$5 billion worth of hospitality, F&B and healthcare properties. He is the son of property giant Royal Holdings' Raj Kumar.

In June 2020, Kishin told BT that TiffinLabs has acquired access to 1,000 delivery-enabled kitchens across the US, Europe and Asia, with the aim of creating an international cloud kitchen network.