Poultry Cultivation Startup “Chickin” Receives Initial Funding Led by East Ventures

Startups agritech Chickin poultry farm received initial stage funding at an undisclosed amount led by East Ventures. This news was immediately confirmed by Chickin's officials when contacted DailySocial.id.

In the information we got, apart from East Ventures, there were other investors in the round, such as 500 Startups and GK-Plug and Play.

At the same time, Chickin officials also said that their party was raising a series A round worth many times the current one. The plan is to complete the process in the third quarter of this year.

According to the company, these fresh funds will be used to accelerate Chickin's mission to increase Indonesia's food security by improving growth performance, people, technology, partner acquisition, empowering farmers to produce production in maximum quantity and quality.

Previously, livestock cultivation startup Pitik had also posted a book $14 million series A funding. Their innovation helps poultry farmers to maximize their productivity.

The solution offered by Chickin

Chickin was founded in 2018 in Klaten, Central Java by three friends, namely Ashab Al Kahfi, Tubagus Syailendra, and Ahmad Syaifulloh, who were previously poultry farmers. From my experience as a cultivator, data is the most important issue for overcoming problems in the field.

Utilizing accurate data can help with evaluations to prevent crop failure and can predict what harvest results can be produced. Moreover, the adoption of technology is very important for breeders because birds are very susceptible to disease risks. “Forecasting di supply chain leaders can help with the process matchmaking antara supply and demand," said Tubagus deeply joint interview DailySocial.id some time ago.

Another issue that is also of concern is the animal protein meat consumption index which is still less than other ASEAN countries. According to the OECD-FAO, Indonesian people's consumption of chicken and beef is still low compared to neighboring countries. Per capita consumption of chicken meat has only reached 11,6 kilograms, while beef consumption is lower, namely 2,7 kilograms.

In response to these needs, Chickin offers IoT and SaaS devices to collect data and matchmaking what data is in the cage for B2B business needs. With its digital technology, Chickin offers solutions for poultry farmers in Indonesia on how to reduce human error, feed waste and electricity costs. The solution helps them change from traditional management to digital-based management.

Chickin provides an IoT-based integrated intelligent farm management system solution through the Chickin App – Micro Climate Controller (MCC) and Chickin Smart Farm which is expected to reduce FCR numbers thereby resulting in better feed efficiency. With IoT-based livestock management and AI support, they make it easier for farmers to cultivate optimally, productively and efficiently.

For its business model, Chickin provides a supply of quality chicken meat to B2B (Chickin Fresh) consumers. It's like E-commerce B2B for chicken meat only, like Aruna which is B2B for fish. Then, monetization occurs in the downstream sector. Chickin's business partners come from a variety of verticals, there are e-grocery, retail, culinary, corporate, to franchise networks.

According to the latest data shared by the company, it is claimed that the company has acquired thousands of breeders and more than 150 farming locations with a population capacity of more than 2,6 million chickens. Chickin has also been trusted by more than 200 clients consisting of leading F&B brands, catering, and also food processing. This shining performance is directly reflected in revenue which is claimed to have grown 50 times in the last year.

Tubagus also conveyed Chickin's future ambitions to target growth in vertical businesses, through acquisitions from upstream to downstream. Then, go to downstream by controlling the demand for chicken aggregation. Next go to mid-stream (slaughterhouse), to upstream (chicken coop).

“The goal is for us to be able to supply farm inputs, such as feed and business, while entering horizontal sectors beyond chickens. Because we plan to leading meat e-commerce B2B in Indonesia," he concluded.