Oddle announced on May 31 the closing of US$5 million ($6.8 million) in their recent pre-Series B funding round. The funds from this bridge round will power product development and regional market expansion in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The round was led by Altara Ventures, a technology venture capital firm headquartered in Singapore and investing across Southeast Asia.
The funds will be supporting their full suite of Online-To-Offline (O2O) solutions regionally, which currently comprises e-shop solutions, reservation systems, QR ordering systems and payment terminal solutions. This is in addition to Oddle Eats, a food discovery platform used across Asia.
Oddle has recently launched the consumer-based Oddle Eats app in Singapore as well, while the rollout of the app in other markets will follow 3Q2022.
"We are very happy that Altara Ventures has placed their trust in us, as the funds help us to expand our offerings across the region,” says Jonathan Lim, Oddle's founder and CEO.
“Over the past two years, despite Covid-19 ravaging the F&B sector, we have empowered our partners to not only sustain through Covid-19 restrictions, but we have also helped many of them thrive, which in turn drove our own success," Lim adds.
See also: Singapore-headquartered Purpose Venture Capital co-invests US$17.3 mil into biotech startup
Lim also mentions that Oddle's multitude of solutions and services is intended to enable each F&B operator to build meaningful engagements with their best customers through smart data. “As the economy starts to open up, providing merchants with cutting edge solutions and expertise to drive their profitability and future-proof their restaurants will be our main priority for the next few years to come," he says.
The company has helped restaurant partners grow their gross merchant value (GMV) from US$21 million in 2019 to US$144 million in 2021. With that, Oddle achieved a revenue of US$18 million for FY2021 ended March 2021 as well.
Oddle makes money only when its partners are successful in increasing their traffic and revenue. This ensures sustainability for both the company and its partners and is reflected in the company's performance.
See also: Silicon Valley start-ups had their worst funding year since 2019
Earlier in September 2021, Oddle launched 'Oddle Reserve', an all-new reservation system to support F&B merchants during challenging times that Covid-19 posed. This feature benefits restaurants, easing management of reservations, all whilst meeting the increased demand for seats.
Sam Lim, Operations Director of PizzaExpress (Singapore franchise), shares that he was very heartened to work with Oddle that provided them with holistic solutions to approach business during Covid-19.
“We faced many challenges amidst Covid-19, especially with the changing regulations on F&B restaurants,” Lim says, “Oddle only helped us remain sustainable during Covid-19 but also made us future-ready.”
Founded in 2014, Oddle serves as an e-commerce provider for F&B operators partnering with over 5,000 restaurants, cafes, bars, and hotels across the region in cities such as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Photo: The Oddle Company
