Mangkokku Business Strategy to Survive During the Pandemic

Although its growth was hampered during the pandemic, the existence of cloud and ghost kitchens in Indonesia was able to become an alternative format for culinary business owners in Indonesia to be able to survive during crisis.

This is to adapt to the changing habits of consumers who are starting to make purchases online, the kitchen concept is an ideal choice because it can make the production process more efficient.

But in the end, to be able to develop a business and make a profit, many culinary business owners hope that dine-in activities at restaurants will return to normal. This is also what Mangkokku feels.

Mangkokku which provides food with the concept of a rice bowl (rice in a bowl) with an archipelago taste. This startup was founded by Randy Kartadinata, Arnold Poernomo, Gibran Rakabuming, and Kaesang Pangarep.

In the #TuesdayStartup session, Mangkokku CEO Randy Kartadinat, revealed the current and future challenges and business potentials.

Business Strategy during A Pandemic

One of the strategies successfully launched by Mangkokku during the pandemic was to start building several outlets in residential areas. Thus, when many people are reluctant to come to the restaurant, they can still enjoy a selection of Indonesian specialties from the Mangkokku outlet at a closer distance.

Although they still rely on online delivery partners such as GoFood, GrabFood, and others, this method is claimed to be quite effective in increasing their sales. The second strategy that was also launched was to issue menu options at affordable prices.

Randy emphasized that Mangkokku doesn’t have a lot of menu choices. With 15 excellent menu options, it is quite capable of creating good engagement and relationships with loyal customers.

As a platform, Mangkokku also carries out a very strict quality control process for their suppliers. This is intentionally done to be able to maintain the quality of the products they present.

Asked how much the company focuses on developing technology, Randy emphasized that a good product is a product that is liked by the public. Furthermore, technology development and other support will be easier to develop.

“Since the beginning we have been offline, but the pandemic has changed everything, which requires us to be able to adopt online services. Starting from developing cloud kitchens to utilizing technology for ordering to delivery,” said Randy.

Positive Business Growth

Currently, Mangkokku claims to have experienced up to 6x business growth after obtaining initial funding from Alpha JWC Ventures of $2 million or around 29 billion Rupiah in 2020.

This year Mangkokku again bagged a series A funding of $7 million or around 101 billion Rupiah led by Alpha JWC Ventures and EMTEK, and participation from Cakra Ventures.

There are several plans that the company wants to carry out after completing this funding, including expanding to renovating kitchen equipment.

The fresh funds will also be used to conduct training for talent development, as well as recruit new talents. “I believe if a company wants to grow it needs to recruit the right team to support the company’s growth,” said Randy.

To enhance the shopping experience and convenience, Mangkokku will launch its app at the end of this year. It will later provide pick-up, delivery, loyalty programs, and special promotions.

In addition, Mangkokku also targets to open its 100th outlet this year and 100 more outlets in 2023. Mangkokku also has plans to be able to bring Indonesian culinary specialties to appear more popular globally.

“During the pandemic cloud kitchen is the most appropriate format to survive. However, from a merchant perspective, it is hoped that during normal conditions the dining business will recover and the gross margin is healthier,” said Randy.