Startup from Singapore "Glife Technologies" Expands to Indonesia Through Acquisition of PanenID

Startups food tech  headquartered in Singapore, Glife Technologies, announced that it had fully acquired PanenID (Indonesia) and Yolek (Malaysia). These two acquisitions are part of the company's plan to enter Indonesia and Malaysia after securing series A funding in November 2021.

The S$11 million ($8 million) round was led by Heliconia Capital, a wholly-owned investment subsidiary of Temasek. Hibiscus Fund VC fund managed by RHL Ventures Malaysia and KB Investment also participated in the round.

There is no mention of the nominal transaction in this acquisition. However, it is certain that Glife is the largest single shareholder in PanenID and Yolek.

HarvestID is a startup farm-to-table based in Bali which directly connects hotels and restaurants with farmers. Founded in 2017, HarvestID specializes in supply chain management for sustainable agriculture. The company pioneers fair trade for more than 120 smallholders in the region, directly connecting them with end customers, restaurants and hotels in Jakarta and Bali.

Meanwhile, Yolek is a B2B distributor of dry, frozen meat-free and plant-based products based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With over 30 years of experience in the wholesale food distribution industry, Yolek Vege Mart serves more than 600 merchants across the F&B industry including vegetarian and organic food retailers, wholesalers and HORECA businesses in the Klang Valley.

A number of local startups are also working on supply chain solutions for agricultural products to business segments, including Tanihub, Agriaku, Eratani and others. In fact, because of the huge potential in B2B, last year Tanihub chose to focus on this segment and close the B2C model that was previously implemented.

Want to revolutionize the agricultural food chain

Glife Co-founder & Deputy CEO Caleb Wu said, "The company's main mission is to revolutionize the agricultural food chain by increasing efficiency in the process through the adoption of technology that aims to bridge the gap between farmers, suppliers and sellers. According to him, both Indonesia and Malaysia are dynamic communities in the field of food and agriculture. The company realizes the great potential to take advantage of the large agricultural market.

“This strategic partnership will allow us to bring Glife's best technology solutions beyond Singapore's borders and we are excited to connect with more farmers and restaurants in the region. PanenID and Yolek are valuable partners on our journey, leveraging their local knowledge to bridge gaps in the food value chain and strengthen our regional network.”

Founded in 2018, Glife is dedicated to raising farmers, suppliers and traders in the food and agriculture industry as they aspire to sustainably feed Southeast Asia. As a vertically integrated food service solution provider, Glife will expand its services in 2021 by providing various restaurant digital technologies for merchants in the HORECA industry.

According to Wu, the partnership with these two companies will later implement GlifeWare, a solution Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) which was developed internally at PanenID and Yolek. This ERP solution specifically aims to improve end-to-end services across the food supply chain including Order Management & Processing, Warehouse Management System and Transportation Management System.

The successful implementation of GlifeWare at PanenID and Yolek is expected to increase operational efficiency by 30% - 50%, measured by operational capacity and compliance level. As of now, Glife has served more than 1000 farmers and more than 900 traders in Singapore.

PanenID CEO Johannes Dwi Cahyo said that his party enthusiastically welcomed the company's joining in Glife. According to him, Glife understands the needs of the food supply chain industry and has aims to bridge the gap over it. "With Glife's strong technology platform, we are very pleased to see how it will significantly improve operations and efficiency for PanenID to meet the product and grocery needs of hotels and restaurants," said Johannes.

Director Yolek Desmond Tan also added, “Glife's innovative software combined with our experience and local knowledge as HORECA distributors for more than 30 years in the plant food distribution and retail sector, has created a solid foundation on which to grow this partnership. We are excited about the growth opportunities Yolek will emerge from the adoption of digital solutions in this conventional industry.”

To support continued growth going forward, Glife will continue its expansion plans in the Southeast Asia region and simultaneously move towards a Series B fundraising round slated to take place in the second half of 2022.