Honestbee

Last updated

Honestbee
Honestbee-Logo.png
Screenshot
Type of site
 Privately held company
Founded23 July 2015;8 years ago (23 July 2015)
Dissolved July 2020;3 years ago (2020-07)
Headquarters
Singapore
Area served Singapore, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Taipei, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Manila, Tokyo
OwnerHonestbee Pte. Ltd.
Created by Joel Sng, Isaac Tay, Jonathan Low
Industry Retail
Services Grocery delivery, food delivery, laundry delivery, parcel delivery
Employees860 (2019) [1]
URL honestbeeth.com

Honestbee (stylised as honestbee) was an online grocery and food delivery service as its core business, a concierge service, and also a parcel delivery service for its B2B clients. [2] The company provided personal shoppers that pick products for its clients. [3] [4] Consumers utilized the company's mobile app or website to interface with the company, and the store pickers and retail stores also utilized the mobile app. [5] [6] In Singapore, honestbee also provided laundry collection services. [4]

Contents

History

Honestbee was launched in Singapore on 23 July 2015 [7] and after that time also launched in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangkok, Philippines and Japan. [2] [5] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] The company was founded by Joel Sng, Isaac Tay, and Jonathan Low and had backing from venture capital companies in Asia and the United States. [14]

In 2018, honestbee launched an online and offline grocery store in Singapore called habitat, which aimed for "more human engagement" for shoppers; [15] habitat was described as their "crowning jewel". Co-founder Isaac Tay left the company in September 2018. [16]

Observers had speculated from early 2019 that honestbee was in a dire financial situation and was in talks with other companies such as Grab and Gojek over a potential acquisition. [17] The company stopped its food delivery service and suspended its laundry service in May 2019; [18] the company also began suspending or closing its overseas operations in April that year, with operations suspended in Thailand and the Philippines in April and Hong Kong, Japan and Indonesia in May. [19] CEO Joel Sng departed the company in May 2019; he was replaced by Bon-woong "Brian" Koo as interim CEO, who had said that he would be working with the executive team to conduct an in-depth review of the business and to "align their strategic interests across their various geographies and verticals". [20]

Koo would be replaced as CEO by Ong Lay Ann in July 2019, with Koo becoming chairman; [21] Koo would later resign in September 2019 [22] but remained a key investor in the company. Co-founder and CTO Jonathan Low left the company in July 2019, being the last of the company's founders to depart. [23] The company was granted a four-month extension of their debt moratorium in September 2019. [24]

A US-based company, FLK Holdings, led by key investor Koo, invested in honestbee in January 2020 in an attempt to incorporate a private entity where honestbee's assets would be transferred. [25] . Due to reduced footfall caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, honestbee announced a temporary closure of habitat; [26] this closure would ultimately become permanent although honestbee never officially acknowledged this, although it was reported that they had considered doing so due to high overhead costs and were clearing out the premises by late-February 2020. [27]

By March 2020, the company had retrenched 80% of its workforce and was delaying employees' salaries and CPF contributions. [28] An email issued the same month stated that FLK Holdings and Formation Group, another company owned by Koo, were considering withdrawing their investment due to the intensifying COVID-19 pandemic "and the resulting uncertainties", with honestbee requesting an adjournment of their hearing in an attempt to restructure their debts [29] but this was dismissed by the high court. [30] In April 2020, honestbee creditor Benjamin Lim applied to wind up the company. The company was subsequently issued a liquidation order in July 2020; the site formerly occupied by habitat is currently used by RedMart as a fulfillment center for their deliveries. [31]

Formation Group, honestbee's sole secured creditor, managed to recover about S$700,000 worth of assets from the company in 2023, while BDO LLC, the liquidator appointed to the case, could only recover about S$720 "from excess payments related to electrical supplies". BDO would seek approval from the High Court to discharge itself from any further responsibilities and dissolve honestbee the same month, owing to the company's inability to settle any outstanding debts. [32]

Services

Grocery

Partnering both supermarkets and specialty stores, customers were able to shop a range of grocery options. Brands such as FairPrice, Jones the Grocer, Tesco, and Emporium Shokuhin were available on their platform. The grocery business was available in the 8 countries in which honestbee operated.

Food

honestbee launched their food delivery service in February 2017. First launched in Singapore, the service was then rolled out in Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, Philippines, and Thailand. They were an exclusive partner for MOS Burger from May 2018 to 2019, when their food delivery service ceased.

Laundry

Launched in September 2016, the honeybee laundry service was only available in Singapore. Customers were able to get their laundry picked up, cleaned, and delivered back in 2 days time. Their pickup and delivery time for laundry service was from 1pm to 10pm (GMT+8), every day. This service was suspended in May 2019 as part of a company restructuring.

Tickets

Launched in late 2017, the Ticketing service was only available in Singapore. Customers were able to purchase tickets to WE Cinemas, direct from the app. It also served as an aggregator of movie timings across multiple cinema chains in Singapore. This service was "temporarily suspended" in 2018.

Presence

honestbee was operational in eight regions in Asia:

Controversy

April fool's prank

In late March 2016, honestbee announced a partnership with "Explorer Joe Exotic Meats" (later revealed to be fictitious), which would allow customers to purchase meat from endangered animals including pandas and whales. [33] [34] While the company eventually claimed its intention all along had been to "bring awareness" and stimulate conversation about the plight of endangered species, the company faced backlash from the public both before and after the revelation that the campaign was a hoax, with a number of customers saying they would boycott the service. [35]

Worker pay

In 2015, honestbee stated it was paying Singapore workers "up to SGD $14 (about $10) an hour;" [36] by May 2016, however, workers countered that the company had lowered the "basic rate" twice, from $7.50 to $6 and then $5, and that there were also issues with payroll being late or miscalculated. [37]

Breach of fiduciary duties

Honestbee CEO and co-founder Joel Sng was able to net millions of dollars in funding for the company. But rather than building the startup, he bought a house in Japan, rented apartments in various cities, and spent millions renovating physical offices—first revealed in 2019 by Tech in Asia. [38] In March 2020, Honestbee filed a lawsuit against Sng for an "alleged breach of fiduciary duties", including purchasing a private property using company funds and incorporating a shell company called PayNow that Honestbee subsequently bought over. [39]

Sng was declared bankrupt in May 2022. [40]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Razer Inc.</span> American-Singaporean technology company

Razer Inc. is an American multinational technology company that makes, develops and sells consumer electronics, financial services, and gaming hardware. The brand was founded in 1998, then refounded in 2005 by Min-Liang Tan and Robert "RazerGuy" Krakoff, although the brand originated in 1999 in the US. It is dual headquartered in the one-north subzone of Queenstown, Singapore, and Irvine, California, US.

one-north Subzone of Queenstown Planning Area in Central Region ----, Singapore

One-north is a subzone of Queenstown, Singapore, first developed by JTC Corporation as the country's research and development and high technology cluster. It was first conceptualised in 1991 as part of the National Technology Plan and officially launched on 4 December 2001 by then Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan Keng Yam.

Zomato is an Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company. It was founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah in 2008. Zomato provides information, menus and user-reviews of restaurants as well as food delivery options from partner restaurants in more than 1,000 Indian cities and towns, as of 2022–23. Zomato rivals Swiggy in food delivery and hyperlocal space.

Foodpanda is an online food and grocery delivery platform owned by Berlin-based Delivery Hero. Foodpanda operates as the lead brand for Delivery Hero in Asia, with its headquarters in Singapore. It is currently the largest food and grocery delivery platform in Asia, outside of China, operating in 11 markets across Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blinkit</span> Indian quick-commerce company

Blink Commerce Private Limited, d/b/a Blinkit and formerly Grofers, is an Indian quick-commerce service. It was founded in December 2013 and is based out of Gurgaon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grab Holdings</span> Singaporean technology company

Grab Holdings Inc. is a Singaporean multinational technology company headquartered in One-North, Singapore. It is the developer of a super-app for ride-hailing, food delivery, and digital payment services on mobile devices that operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Deliveroo is a British online food delivery company founded by Will Shu and Greg Orlowski in 2013 in London, England. It operates in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar. It formerly operated in Germany, Taiwan, Spain, the Netherlands, and Australia. Its subsidiary operation, Deliveroo Editions operates dark kitchens for the preparation of delivery-only meals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolt (company)</span> Peer-to-peer ridesharing, food delivery

Bolt is an Estonian mobility company that offers ride-hailing, micromobility rental, food and grocery delivery, and carsharing services. The company is headquartered in Tallinn and operates in over 500 cities in more than 45 countries in Europe, Africa, Western Asia and Latin America. The company has more than 150 million customers and more than 3 million driver and courier partners. The company has plans for an initial public offering in 2025.

Careem is a Dubai-based super app with operations in over 70 cities, covering 10 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia regions. The company, which was valued at over US$2 billion in 2018, became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber after being acquired for $3.1 billion in January 2020. Careem expanded into the food delivery business with Careem Now in November 2018, which evolved into Careem Food as well as the rapid grocery delivery service Careem Quik in 2020, and launched a digital payment platform, Careem Pay in April 2022. In April 2023, Careem's Super App business was spun out into a new legal entity, which e& acquired a 50.03% stake in, while Uber maintains full ownership of Careem's ride-hailing business. The Super App currently offers 20 digital services in the UAE including ride-hailing, food, grocery, micromobility, DineOut, and a subscription-based service - Careem Plus, amongst others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lalamove</span> Asia-based delivery company

Lalamove is a delivery and logistics company which operates primarily in Asia and parts of Latin America. Lalamove services are currently available in Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Cebu, Bangkok, Pattaya, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Jakarta, Dhaka, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Mexico City. The company had expanded its services to India in 2018 but was banned by the Indian government in 2020 as part of increasing restrictions on Chinese technology.

PT Gojek Indonesia is an Indonesian on-demand multi-service platform and digital payment technology group based in Jakarta. Gojek was first established in Indonesia in 2009 as a call center to connect consumers to courier delivery and two-wheeled ride-hailing services. Gojek launched its application in 2015 with only four services: GoRide, GoSend, GoShop, and GoFood. Valued at US$10 billion today, Gojek has transformed into a super app, providing more than 20 services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GOGOX</span>

GOGOX, previously GoGoVan, is an on-demand ride sharing service based in Asia, which focuses on transportation of freight and goods in urban areas. Steven Lam Hoi-yuen, Nick Tang Kuen-wai and Reeve Kwan Chun-man co-founded the service in 2013. The service was initially launched in Hong Kong, before expanding its services. It operates in five countries in Asia, including Hong Kong, Singapore, mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea and India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shipt</span> American delivery service owned by Target Corporation

Shipt is an American delivery service owned by Target Corporation. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JustCo</span>

JustCo is a Singaporean company that provides coworking workspaces for individuals and companies. Headquartered in Singapore, JustCo was founded in 2011 by Kong Wan Sing, its current CEO, alongside co-founders Liu Lu and Kong Wan Long, as a response to increasing demand for flexible workspaces. Initially focused on Singapore, the company expanded to provide office space in cities across eight countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, China, South Korea and Taiwan.

Grain is an online food ordering company that offers online catering and food delivery services to the Singapore market through its website and mobile application.

Swiggy is an Indian online food ordering and delivery platform. Founded in 2014, Swiggy is headquartered in Bangalore and operates in more than 580 Indian cities, as of July 2023. Besides food delivery, the platform also provides on-demand grocery deliveries under the name Instamart, and a same-day package delivery service called Swiggy Genie.

Ninja Van is a Singaporean logistics company. Founded in 2014, the company engages in last mile logistics and package delivery. Ninja Van has sorting warehouses across Southeast Asia, in Singapore, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Secretlab is a Singaporean furniture company established by Ian Ang and Alaric Choo in 2014. It primarily designs and manufactures gaming chairs.

Ian Alexander Ang Zheng Wei is a Singaporean entrepreneur and businessman. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer of gaming chair company Secretlab.

Joel Sng Zhiwei is a Singaporean entrepreneur and businessman. He co-founded the online grocery and food delivery service Honestbee and was its chief executive officer from March 2015 to May 2019.

References

  1. ↑ "Honestbee profile", Craft, retrieved 13 August 2019
  2. 1 2 Sim, Walter (20 July 2017). "Singapore grocery concierge service Honestbee buzzes towards 'global store' concept". The Straits Times . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  3. ↑ Woodhouse, Alice (8 November 2016). "Honestbee brings fresh buzz to convenience shopping". South China Morning Post . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  4. 1 2 Low, Aloysius (14 September 2016). "Asia-based grocery delivery startup Honestbee adds laundry services to its lineup". CNET . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  5. 1 2 Roxas, Stephanie (24 June 2017). "SG-based mobile app grocery delivery service expands to PH". Newsbytes Philippines. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  6. ↑ Iwamoto, Kentaro (4 September 2017). "Honestbee wants to help, not disrupt, Tokyo grocery stores- Nikkei Asian Review". The Nikkei . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  7. ↑ Lee, Terence. "Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  8. ↑ "honestbee Delivers Groceries in an Hour". Foodie. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  9. ↑ "Honestbee's Joel Sng Sets Big Regional Goals for Grocery Delivery Startup". Forbes Asia. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  10. ↑ Leesa-Nguansuk, Suchit (25 April 2017). "Honestbee sweetens Thai operations budget". Bangkok Post . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  11. ↑ "Honestbee officially launches in Indonesia". 80 Quartier. 15 February 2017. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  12. ↑ Kandasivam, Anushia (3 March 2017). "honestbee launches in Malaysia". Digital News Asia. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  13. ↑ Tegos, Michael. "Honestbee launches its grocery delivery service in Thailand". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  14. ↑ Tegos, Michael. "Online grocery startup Honestbee raises $15M from Silicon Valley to deliver the goods". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "honestbee launches a world's first 'NewGen Retail' concept: habitat by honestbee, a one of a kind tech-enabled, multi-sensory grocery and dining experience". PR Newswire. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  16. ↑ Elangovan, Navene. "After leaving Honestbee, entrepreneur Isaac Tay hopes to make a buzz in the comedy scene". TODAYonline.com. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  17. ↑ Russell, Jon (26 April 2019). "Grocery delivery startup Honestbee is running out of money and trying to sell – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  18. ↑ "Honestbee halts food delivery service in Singapore". TODAYonline. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  19. ↑ Aw, Cheng Wei (30 April 2019). "Honestbee says suspending some overseas operations, cutting global headcount all part of ongoing review". The Straits Times . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  20. ↑ Choo, Yun Ting (30 September 2019). "Honestbee gets 4-month extension of debt moratorium; ex-employees receive first payment of owed salaries". The Straits Times . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  21. ↑ Salim, Zafirah (26 July 2019). "Honestbee Sees Another Leadership Change: Ong Lay Ann Takes Over As New CEO". Vulcan Post. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  22. ↑ Salim, Zafirah (24 September 2019). "Honestbee Chairman Brian Koo Resigns, Firm Still Owes Ex-Staff Almost $1M In Salary". Vulcan Post. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  23. ↑ Choo, Yun Ting (29 July 2019). "Honestbee announces appointment of new CEO, departure of co-founder and CTO". The Straits Times . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  24. ↑ Choo, Yun Ting (30 September 2019). "Honestbee gets 4-month extension of debt moratorium; ex-employees receive first payment of owed salaries". The Straits Times . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  25. ↑ Choo, Yun Ting (30 January 2020). "Honestbee secures further backing from key investor Brian Koo, offers payment in cash and equity to creditors". The Straits Times . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  26. ↑ Salim, Zafirah (10 February 2020). "Honestbee To Close Habitat Supermarket Until Feb 29, Will Continue Online Grocery Deliveries". Vulcan Post. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  27. ↑ Chong, Claudia; Pillai, Sharanya (2 March 2020). "honestbee clears out furniture from habitat; police called in". The Business Times Singapore. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  28. ↑ Choo, Yun Ting (10 March 2020). "Honestbee retrenches 80% of staff, delays payment of salaries and CPF contributions". The Straits Times . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  29. ↑ Pillai, Sharanya (25 March 2020). "Brian Koo may withdraw lifeline for honestbee; ex-director denies startup's allegations". The Business Times Singapore. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  30. ↑ Pillai, Sharanya (26 March 2020). "High Court dismisses honestbee's restructuring bid; creditors may wind up firm". The Business Times Singapore. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  31. ↑ Pillai, Sharanya (24 July 2020). "RedMart to occupy honestbee's former habitat site". The Business Times Singapore. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  32. ↑ Sivakumar, Yoganeetha (25 May 2023). "The saga continues: honestbee still owes S$319.9 million to former staff, vendors, creditors". Vulcan Post. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  33. ↑ Swerdloff, Alex (1 March 2016). "An Asian Grocer's April Fools' Joke About Panda Meat Seriously Backfired". Vice . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  34. ↑ Balea, Judith (30 March 2016). "Honestbee's exotic meats sale: an April Fools' prank gone wrong?". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  35. ↑ Ravikrishnan, Ashutosh (30 March 2016). "'Sale' of panda meat, koala sausages part of endangered animals awareness campaign: honestbee". Today . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  36. ↑ Shu, Catherine (20 October 2015). "Singaporean On-Demand Grocery Startup Honestbee Gets $15M To Expand To Six New Asian Countries". TechCrunch . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  37. ↑ Ho, Olivia (10 May 2016). "Freelancers for honestbee feeling the sting". The Straits Times. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  38. ↑ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  39. ↑ Lim, Janice (24 March 2020). "Honestbee taking legal action against ex-CEO, former director over alleged 'numerous irregularities'". Today .
  40. ↑ "Former honestbee CEO declared bankrupt". The Business Times Singapore. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.