Quick commerce online grocery startup Astro raises Rp387 billion in series A funding

Indonesian quick commerce online grocery startup Astro announced it has raised Rp387 billion in its series A funding. The funding round is led by Accel and Sequoia Capital India. Existing investors Global Founders, AC Ventures, Goodwater Capital and Lightspeed also participated in the funding round along with angel investors including founders and senior executives of Ajaib, Traveloka, OYO, Swiggy, Udaan and Meesho. 

Astro was founded by Vincent Tjendra, a former associate vice president of Tokopedia, and was launched in September 2021. The startup offers online groceries and other daily essentials and with its quick commerce concept, it will deliver the products to the consumers within 15 minutes of order. 

Sequoia Capital India VP Aakash Kapoor considers the quick commerce concept as one model that could meet consumers’ growing demand for faster delivery with better selection and value pricing.

“With growing affluence, the Indonesian market is reaching an inflexion point in e-grocery and other consumer categories, opening up a large market opportunity,” Kapoor said in a statement.

According to Dailysocial.id, the retail sector in Indonesia for grocery/foodstuff has a fairly low penetration, which is around 0.4%, compared to the penetration of e-commerce that reaches 10%. However, research found that the sector is projected to grow to $6 billion in 2025. To add, the pandemic is seen as an opportunity for online groceries to grow rapidly. 

Astro plans to use the fresh funds to expand its services across Indonesia and hire more people this year. To this date, Astro has established 15+ hubs throughout Jakarta with 1,500+ product SKUs, ranging from food, vegetables and meat to snacks, on its app with low price.