How Kopi Kenangan Transformed a $15,000 Investment into a Billion-Dollar Coffee Empire

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Welcome to the 62nd edition of The Growth Elements Newsletter. Every Monday, I write an essay on growth metrics & experiments and business case studies.

Today’s piece is for 5,100+ founders, operators, and leaders from businesses such as Shopify, Google, Sage, Hubspot, Zoho, RateGain, Zaggle, Servcorp, Apollo and more.

Happy Monday!

Kopi Kenangan grew from $15,000 in investment to a billion-dollar coffee business in under 5 years.

𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥, 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐔𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠

[1] Grab and go business model

• Less CAPEX

• Better margins and payback period

[2] Utilising data to open new stores

• Stores near mall locations and stations

• Stores near customers

• Stores next to Starbucks

[3] Creating a viral menu item called "Memory of my ex-girlfriend coffee."

• Matches local tastes and palates

• Different branding and Indonesian name

𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞

• Initial capital: $15,000

• First VC investment: $8 million

• Net revenue in 2023: $106 million

𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭

• The viral coffee menu item Kopi Kenangan, translated as “Memory of my ex-girlfriend,” went viral and created a buzz.

• It sounds cliche, but it went so viral that people started posting videos saying it tasted like my ex-girlfriend—sweet in the beginning and bitter at the end.

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡

• 2017: 1 location

• 2018: 20 locations

• 2019: 200+ locations

• 2022: 800+ locations

• 2028: Projected to hit 3000+ locations

And focus on international expansion to achieve profitability.

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That's it for today's article! I hope you found this essay insightful.

Wishing you a productive week ahead!

I always appreciate you reading.

Thanks,
Chintankumar Maisuria