rakuten and beyond next invest $1.4m seed funding in farm-to-table startup secai marche

Streamlining Agricultural Logistics with Secai Marche

Both agricultural producers and food service establishments, such as restaurants, encounter similar challenges stemming from a disjointed supply chain. Secai Marche is focused on optimizing agricultural logistics, aiming to reduce fulfillment costs and empower food businesses to combine products sourced from multiple farms within a single order.

Headquartered in Japan, the company currently operates in Malaysia and has future expansion plans encompassing Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. Recently, Secai Marche announced a pre-Series A funding round of 150 million JPY – approximately $1.4 million USD – secured from Rakuten Ventures and Beyond Next Ventures.

Funding and Expansion Plans

This investment will be channeled towards the development of a B2B logistics platform specifically designed for farmers who supply restaurants, hotels, and other food and beverage (F&B) businesses. The current funding round brings Secai Marche’s total raised capital to around $3 million.

The received funds will be allocated to expanding the company’s fulfillment infrastructure. This includes building a network of warehouses and establishing robust cold chain logistics capabilities. Furthermore, the company intends to bolster its engineering team and enhance its sales and marketing efforts.

Founding and Early Stages

Secai Marche was established in 2018 by Ami Sugiyama and Shusaku Hayakawa. Currently, the platform serves a network of 130 farmers and over 300 F&B businesses.

Prior to founding the startup, Sugiyama accumulated four years of experience working in Southeast Asia, including management roles within restaurants and cafes in Malaysia. During this period, she initiated the import of green tea from Japan, with the intention of direct sales to Malaysian consumers.

However, she quickly identified that supply chain inefficiencies hindered both meeting demand and maintaining consistent product quality across various ingredients.

Complementary Expertise

Concurrently, Hayakawa was managing a farm in Japan and developing agriculture control systems. These systems utilized predictive modeling of weather patterns and crop growth to assist farmers in upholding consistent quality standards.

Both Sugiyama and Hayakawa eventually joined the consulting firm Deloitte, where they conducted research focused on creating a more efficient supply chain for Japanese agricultural exports destined for Singaporean F&B businesses.

Government Support and Market Opportunity

Governmental policies, spearheaded by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s administration, are geared towards increasing Japanese agricultural exports. The goal is to elevate exports from 922.3 billion JPY (roughly $8.5 billion) in 2020 to 2 trillion JPY (approximately $18.5 billion) by 2025, and further to 5 trillion JPY (around $46.1 billion) by 2030.

Secai Marche’s core objective is to simplify the process for farmers to market their produce to F&B businesses, both within Japan and internationally.

Expanding Across Asia

“Our research revealed that the supply chain challenges aren’t limited to Japanese farmers; farmers throughout Southeast Asia face similar issues,” Sugiyama explained to TechCrunch. “This realization prompted us to leave Deloitte and launch our own venture, connecting farmers not only in Japan but across all Asian countries.”

Technology and Logistics

Secai Marche distinguishes itself from other wholesale platforms through its advanced logistics management technology. The company employs an AI-driven algorithm to forecast demand, taking into account consumption trends, seasonal product availability, and recommendations from farmers, as stated by Hayakawa.

While Secai Marche operates its own warehouse network, it primarily relies on third-party logistics providers for fulfillment. The platform intelligently assigns orders to the most cost-effective transportation method.

Benefits for Food Businesses

This system enables F&B businesses to consolidate orders from various farmers, allowing them to procure smaller quantities from diverse sources without incurring additional expenses.

Currently, approximately 30% of Secai Marche’s products are exported to international markets, with the remaining 70% sold domestically.

Adapting to Challenges

Secai Marche actively seeks to connect with farmers aiming to broaden their customer reach. Currently, 30% of its products originate from Japanese farms, 50% from Malaysia, and the remaining 20% from other ASEAN nations.

Sugiyama and Hayakawa noted that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their expansion timeline, delaying their planned entry into Singapore due to travel restrictions and the inability to meet with farmers in person.

However, the pandemic also led to an increase in farmers directly selling to consumers via social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. These farmers subsequently approached Secai Marche for assistance with fulfillment, logistics, repacking, and quality control.

Correction: The funding amount was corrected to $1.4 million from a previously stated $1 million.