Rapper Jay-Z and tennis star Serena Williams have invested in Series A in Indonesian coffee shop chain Kopi Kenangan, the South China Morning Post reported. Series A funding refers to the company’s first major investment phase to grow its business. The amount of funding for the two stars is still unknown.
Jay-Z is a world star who has won 22 awards for being nominated 77 times at the Grammy Awards. He became the first U.S. hip-hop musician to join a billion-dollar club with more than $1 billion in assets. He is also famous for being the husband of pop diva Beyonce. Serena Williams is the world No. 1 female singles tennis player in 2015 and currently remains No. 10 in the world rankings.
In addition, professional basketball player charisma Lebert and salad distributor Sweet Green CEO Jonathan Neman participated in the investment. Charismatic LeBert is currently playing for the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA.
Jay Z and Serena Williams Kopi Kenangan Investment
Kopi Kenangan was co-founded in 2017 by Edward Tirtanata, who now serves as CEO, his high school friends James Parananto and Cynthia Charunicia. As of 2019, it has 200 stores in 18 Indonesian cities. It plans to operate more than 1,000 additional stores in the coming years and make inroads across Southeast Asia.
“Kopi Kenangan Mantan,” a sugar-based coffee milk drink derived from palm nuts, is the main menu. Raw materials including milk are supplied from local farmers.
Kopi Kenangan received $20 million from Sequoia Capital in July and $8 million from Alfa JWC last year.
Within the country, Kopi Kenangan has to compete with both foreign and local coffee shops. Foreign coffee shops in the country includes Starbucks and Illy. While local coffee shops that offer high end menu are starting to enter the market.
Such as Janji Jiwa and Fore Coffee. Both have similar price with Kopi Kenangan, which is below foreign coffee shops but with better quality than the cheap coffee shops.
