Tech-enabled coffee chains eyeing Singapore as prized battleground for supremacy
Such coffee chains are pouring into Singapore, but missteps could turn startups into ‘has-beans’
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IN 2016, Alibaba founder Jack Ma coined the term “new retail” to describe how the blending of the physical and digital worlds was creating a new experience for consumers.
Two years later, technology-driven coffee chains became a hot favourite of venture capitalists. Luckin Coffee, founded in Beijing, was a poster child for how quickly a food and beverage brand could grow by weaving tech into every aspect of the business.
Luckin went public in New York in 2019 at a valuation of US$4.2 billion, barely two years after it started operations. Since then, the model has inspired a number of coffee chains in South-east Asia, such as Kopi Kenangan in Indonesia and Flash Coffee in Singapore.
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