Vietnam-based FoodTech startup Kamereo has raised $4.6 million in Series A funding co-led by agro-industrial and food conglomerate CPF Group, Quest Ventures, and Genesia Ventures.

Besides increasing the company’s manpower, Kamereo Founder and Chief Executive Officer Taku Tanaka is aiming to use the new funding to bring Kamereo to Hanoi next year, according to a statement.

He also aims to build a new warehouse management system to optimize daily operations, continuously upgrade the user experience and service quality of its website and mobile app, and expand tech coverage to allow the in-house engineering team to make fast, data-driven decisions.

In the long term, Kamereo aims to become a one-stop procurement platform for food and beverages (F&B) businesses.

The Ho Chi Minh City-based company is the country’s first business-to-business (B2B) food platform to use technology to optimize sourcing and purchasing in the F&B industry.

The platform connects buyers to farmers, allowing each to speed up the lengthy process of delivering fruit and veg supplies to the kitchen.

The company has grown by 15 percent every month in the last 12 months despite mobility restrictions and the temporary closure of some businesses. Kamero attributes its rapid success to the surging local F&B industry which has shown a steady compound annual growth rate of 10+ percent, as well as segment players’ growing discernment on sustainably and ethically sourced goods, and the country’s overall positive management of the coronavirus pandemic.

On the new partnership with Kamereo, CP Vietnam Corporation CEO Montri Suwanposri said: “We are pleased to join forces with Kamereo – combining our state of the art production and highest food standards with their unparalleled B2B F&B expertise. Together, we are helping and elevating F&B entrepreneurs with hygienic, tasty, and innovative food as they strive to do better for their customers.”

“Kamereo sits in one of the largest food production hubs of Southeast Asia, and there is much room to grow in solving many of the inefficiencies of the supply chain today, improving farmers’ livelihood outcomes and procuring the best products for businesses and homes,” Quest Ventures partner Goh Yiping added.

Kamereo is Vietnam’s first technology-enabled supplier for restaurants, hotels, cafes, retail shops, and offices. It’s a one-stop platform where farmers, producers, importers, and buyers connect to trade a range of fruit and vegetable products at the best prices. Kamero has its own warehouse, delivery team, and customer support team.