Singapore-headquartered grocery and food delivery startup Honestbee is temporarily suspending its operations in Malaysia from July 22, Channel News Asia reported on Thursday.
The move comes shortly after the service provider halted its food delivery service in Singapore as part of a strategic review of its business in May.
“After a strategic review of our company’s businesses, our headquarters in Singapore has made a firm decision to temporarily suspend our operations in Malaysia,” Honestbee said in an announcement to its food partners, which was seen as CNA.
DealStreetAsia has reached out to Honestbee for comment.
In May, Honestbee announced that it was halting its food delivery service in Singapore, and temporarily suspending its laundry services as part of an in-depth strategic review of the business.
The decision was made to optimise the business structure, and to drive better focus and alignment with Honestbee’s current strategic priorities, said the startup. Honestbee will continue to operate the grocery delivery service, and its physical store – Habitat by Honestbee.
Besides Singapore, Honestbee had also suspended its operations in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines.
In a recent report by Malay Mail, HonestBee had said its Malaysian operations were still “going strong”, particularly in the urban areas of Klang Valley, Johor Bahru and Penang.
DealStreetAsia had in May reported that Honestbee is seeking to raise S$20 million ($14.5 million) in bridge financing, and is open to raising this capital via convertible loans/warrants at double-digit interest rates, for a term of 6-12 months.
Last year, Honestbee was reported to have raised $49 million from Yesco, a subsidiary of LS Group, one of South Korea’s chaebols. Interim CEO Brian Koo, the founding member of Silicon Valley’s Formation 8, is also an investor.
This week, news emerged of the exit of Honestbee’s vice president of marketing, Christina Lim, after a year into the role.
