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Home > Blog > Kamereo News > KAMEREO Secures US$7.8M in Series B to Accelerate Growth in Vietnam’s B2B Food E-Commerce Market

KAMEREO Secures US$7.8M in Series B to Accelerate Growth in Vietnam’s B2B Food E-Commerce Market

With this new funding, the total amount raised now exceeds US$15M. KAMEREO has grown to become the largest player in Vietnam’s B2B food supply e-commerce market. The company is continuing its nationwide expansion across Vietnam, beginning with Hanoi. The company is also branching out into other related sectors, including marketplace operations and direct imports. 

KAMEREO INTERNATIONAL PTE. LTD., which operates a B2B food supply e-commerce platform in Vietnam, has raised US$7.8M in its Series B funding round from Sumitomo Corporation, Inspire Co., Ltd., SMBC Venture Capital Co., Ltd. , Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd., REAZON HOLDINGS, INC, and other individual investors. With this latest funding round, the total amount raised by the company is now exceeding US$15M.

<Use of Funds in This Round>

The funds raised will be allocated to expanding operations in multiple cities across Vietnam. This includes strengthening the product offering, diversifying activities, introducing new services (such as marketplace model), and further developing product features. 

<Comment from KAMEREO>

KAMEREO successfully overcame the nationwide lockdown in Vietnam until the 3rd quarter of 2021 and since then has been able to significantly grow its business and improve profitability. Its customer base extends beyond restaurants to include supermarkets, convenience stores, factories, schools, hospitals, and more. The company continues to expand its product offering to establish a system capable of meeting customers’ needs comprehensively. While in developed countries such as Japan or the U.S, major wholesale companies and agricultural cooperatives dominate the food supply chain, in Vietnam, such players are absent, and the market is primarily composed of many individual dealers. With a market of USD 100 billion with a CAGR over 5% over the next five years and no clear market leaders or winners, there is room for KAMEREO to become a major player in the industry. 

<Expansion to Multiple Cities in Vietnam>

In December 2024, KAMEREO expanded operations to Hanoi, complementing its presence in Ho Chi Minh City. Together, these two cities account for over 50% of Vietnam’s GDP, marking a significant step in the company’s nationwide expansion. 

KAMEREO has also built a system for daily refrigerated transportation connecting the northern and southern regions of Vietnam. In the future, it plans to establish logistics and sales operations in various cities in the central region as well. 

Recently, it has seen an increasing demand for purchases from customers in cities beyond Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, and it is rapidly working towards a system that can fully cover all regions of Vietnam. 

<Marketplace Business>

KAMEREO is enhancing its marketplace business by leveraging its wide last-mile delivery network, three temperature-zone warehouse capabilities, organic web traffic, and its large client base of over 3,000 customers. Unlike the traditional method of managing inventory ourselves, its business model allows producers and manufacturers to store their inventory in KAMEREO’s warehouses while the company handles sales, delivery, and payment collection. 

By listing products on its marketplace, suppliers expand sells capability to the HORECA (hotels, restaurants, and cafes) sector—a market that was previously difficult to access—without needing to invest in setup costs or build operational systems. 

As its first project, Kamereo formed a comprehensive business partnership with GYOMU JAPAN, the operator of the Gyomu Super business in Vietnam, run by Kobe Bussan Co., Ltd. Through this collaboration, approximately 450 Gyomu Super products are now available for purchase on KAMEREO.

The initiative has been well-received by customers, and the company plans to continue increasing the number of partner companies in its marketplace. 

<KAMEREO’s Private Label>

KAMEREO has been strengthening the development of its private label since last year and plans to allocate a portion of the recently raised funds to further enhance this development. The private label strategy focuses on advancing the following two key points: 

1. Development and Strengthening Sales of Pre-Cut Vegetables and Fruits for Supermarkets and Convenience Stores

In Vietnam’s urban areas, the shift from traditional market culture to modern trade is accelerating rapidly. They aim to introduce new products at the right timing to align with this irreversible trend. Their plan is to develop products that cater to the long-term trends of increasing demand for food safety, traceability, and health consciousness. 

2. Private Labeling of Consumables to Enhance Brand Awareness and Strengthen Price Competitiveness

In Vietnam, many factories operate as OEM facilities for overseas markets. By placing large orders during periods of low production activity at these factories, they can manufacture high-quality private label products at a lower cost. This approach enables them to reduce costs while maintaining or even improving the quality of our products, thereby enhancing our competitiveness in pricing. 

<Comment from investors>

Hiroki Takeno, Executive Officer, Retail SBU Head, Sumitomo Corporation

“KAMEREO has been addressing the needs and challenges of those involved in the restaurant, café, and food service industries, steadily gaining widespread support through meticulous improvements. This has significantly contributed to the development of Vietnam’s food distribution industry. Following this funding round, we plan to collaborate with our retail business, Fujimart, which we operate in Hanoi, to support KAMEREO‘s business expansion. Through this partnership and new services, we aim to deliver high-quality, safe, and reliable food to an even greater number of customers.” 

Manabu Fujimoto, Director , Inspire Investment Co., Ltd.

For over 10 years, our company has been supporting the overseas expansion of Japanese businesses, particularly in the ASEAN region. Beyond simple investments and export promotion, we have engaged in efforts closely aligned with the realization of overseas growth strategies, such as the strategic co-establishment of joint ventures. In Vietnam, one of the key growth markets in ASEAN, we believe that KAMEREO‘s vertically integrated supply chain provides mutually beneficial value indispensable for business expansion, while staying attuned to the needs of customers and the market. Through this

investment, we aim to create opportunities for cross-industry collaboration with the companies supported by our fund and strive to enhance business value by leveraging synergistic effects.” 

Motohiro Takeuchi, Deputy General Manager, Investment Department IV, SMBC Venture Capital Co., Ltd.

“KAMEREO, led by a Japanese CEO with a unique organizational culture that places “Kaizen” as its core value, has steadily advanced through persistent sales activities and operational improvements. This has created a virtuous growth cycle where acquiring more customers improves procurement conditions, making it easier to attract even more customers. It is a great pleasure to support KAMEREO, under the leadership of CEO Tanaka, one of Vietnam’s most promising Japanese entrepreneurs and a potential role model for globally active entrepreneurs originating from Japan, through this investment. We also aim to leverage our group network to provide various forms of support in realizing the vision of “redefining the food industry.” 

Taiki Goto, Deputy General Manager, Investment Department II, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd.

Vietnam, with a population surpassing 100 million in 2023 and ongoing economic growth, presents significant market potential, particularly in its food distribution network, where there is room for greater efficiency. KAMEREO has demonstrated its potential by building a vertically integrated, high-complexity supply chain operation that spans upstream to downstream, ensuring stable pricing, quality, and delivery times. Additionally, we are impressed by the vitality of CEO Tanaka, who has successfully led the business in a foreign land despite challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We are honored to have the opportunity to invest in KAMEREO and will support their endeavors by leveraging MUFG’s Southeast Asia network to help realize their ambitions.” 

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