A former e-commerce company has changed its name to Sekilo, and entered the poultry processing and distribution sectors in the Indonesia.
As its previous entity, quick commerce platform Dropezy closed all its multiple outlets in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, some time ago.
Earlier this week, the new company Sekilo emerged as a new entrant in the poultry downstream supply chain, reports DealStreetAsia.
The move followed a prolonged period of investigation by the owners into alternative ventures, after the demise of once-booming quick commerce in Indonesia.
One year ago, co-founders Nitish Chellaram and Chandni Chainani identified the protein sector as a potentially profitable business area.
Furthermore, they noted that the business-to-business (B2B) supply chain for poultry in the country was highly fragmented, according to TechInAsia.
As well as digitizing the value chain, Sekilo aims to serve B2B buyers with tailored meat orders of between 25kg to 10 metric tons. Target customers are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality and catering spheres, the co-founders said.
Looking ahead, Sekilo is looking to collaborate with third-party financial services partners so they can offer customers “buy now, pay later” options.
Opportunities in Indonesian poultry market
Underscoring the rebranding of Sekilo and its new focus are the recent growth in the Indonesian population — currently more than 270 million — and demand for poultry as the most popular meat.
Meanwhile, the country’s expansive food service and reputation for vibrant culinary culture offered huge potential if the opportunities could be matched with a more streamlined and efficient distribution system, reported TechNode.
Co-founder Chainani said the new firm will source poultry from across the island of Java. Products selected will meet global quality standards, with Halal certification as a priority.
As well as SMEs, Sekilo will be looking to offers its services to e-grocery start-ups and processed meat companies selling direct to consumers (D2C), according to Chellaram.
End-to-end control of the chain will empower the new company to implement in-house grading, and help support a multi-customer-profile B2B approach, he said.
“The journey was not without its challenges, particularly in parting ways with many valued team members,” said Chellaram, “As founders, we undertook extensive planning to position Sekilo for success in the dynamic meat processing and distribution sector.”
Growth forecast for chicken consumption
According to a recent report, world population is expected to grow to 8.6 billion by 2032, which equates to an 8% increase compared with 2022.
By the end of this period, global poultry meat consumption is forecast to exceed 156 million metric tons (mmt).
The report’s authors identify the main drivers for this growth as population growth and meat preferences in developing countries. These include Indonesia, where chicken uptake is forecast to be just under 4.9mmt (in terms of retail weight). This will make it the third largest poultry market in Asia, behind China (25.2mmt) and India (5.5mmt).
