On December 9th, Kamereo - a B2B food supply startup headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City - announced that it had successfully raised $7.8 million in its Series B funding round. Investors included Sumitomo Corporation, Inspire, SMBC Venture Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Reazon Holdings, and several individual investors.

This latest round brings Kamereo's total funding to over $15 million. The company plans to use the new capital to expand its business operations, product portfolio, launch import services, and introduce new features like a marketplace model. 

Kamereo was co-founded in 2018 by Taku Tanaka, who left his role as Chief Operating Officer at Japanese pizza chain Pizza 4P's in Vietnam in 2017. Tanaka, along with co-founder Hiroshi Tokaku, initially started Kamereo as a platform for sourcing and procurement of food supplies. The startup raised its first $500,000 in 2019 and an additional $4.6 million in Series A funding during the pandemic in 2021.

During this time, Kamereo shifted its focus to wholesale food ingredient supply for the HORECA (hotel, restaurant, cafe) sector. This market in Vietnam is estimated to be worth $100 billion, growing over 5% in the next 5 years, and lacks large-scale wholesale players like in Japan or the US.

"With a population surpassing 100 million by 2023 and continuous economic growth, Vietnam is a highly promising market, especially in the food distribution sector which still has room for efficiency improvement," said Taiki Goto, Deputy General Manager of Investment Division II at Mitsubishi UFJ Capital.

According to an IPOS market report, Vietnam's food and beverage (F&B) services industry is growing at 11.47%, reaching over 590,000 billion VND. By the end of 2023, the number of outlets in Vietnam is expected to reach 317,299, a 1.26% increase from 2022. Among nearly 3,000 surveyed units, 79.6% reported improved business conditions and sufficient resources for expansion, with over half looking to scale up.

"Vietnam is one of the key growth markets in Southeast Asia, where Kamereo's integrated supply solution provides real value in meeting the needs of various stakeholders," said Manabu Fujimoto, Director of Inspire Investment.

Kamereo has developed its own private label brands since last year and plans to use part of the new funding to further expand this model, providing more pre-cut vegetables to supermarkets and convenience stores. The company is also expanding to Hanoi this month and has plans to enter the Central region.

Additionally, Kamereo is rolling out a marketplace model to connect suppliers with buyers. The company is investing in warehousing, handling sales, logistics, and payments. Its first project in this area is a collaboration with Gyomu Japan, the operator of Gyomu Super in Vietnam, bringing around 450 products onto the platform.

"A startup in Vietnam led by a Japanese CEO with a 'Kaizen' (continuous improvement) culture has created a good growth cycle and attracted more customers," said Motohiro Takeuchi, Deputy General Manager of Investment Division IV at SMBC Venture Capital.

According to the General Statistics Office, revenue from accommodation and food services in the first 11 months of 2023 is estimated to reach 669,000 billion VND, up 13% year-over-year. Major cities or tourism and industrial hubs saw strong growth, including Hanoi (10.7%), Ho Chi Minh City (9.4%), Khanh Hoa (17%), Hai Phong (13.2%), Can Tho (12.6%), and Binh Duong (8.3%).