Launched in 2020, Flash Coffee opened at least 20 stores in Singapore and quickly expanded across Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and South Korea. It raised US$50 million ($68.4 million) this May, on the back of a goal to reach profitability in 2024.
The global economic slowdown has been keenly felt in Southeast Asia, where once-high-flying startups have had to quickly reconfigure their businesses and hasten plans to achieve profitability. Flash Coffee’s service, as a form of discretionary spending, was particularly vulnerable to the downturn in consumer sentiment and rising rents in the city-state.
“Most of our Singapore head office staff have been offered roles in other markets or with our regional team,” the company said.
