�We’ve moved from being a startup that scaled fast to a brand that’s scaling right,” said Jakob Angele, executive chairman of Flash Coffee.  “This past year has been all about focus, doing fewer things better and building a coffee experience that matters to people.”  It’s a pivot that’s reshaping the company from the inside out.  Pause. Focus on what truly matters Flash Coffee launched in 2020 with an ambitious model: App-enabled coffee pick-up at scale, catering to time-poor urban millennials. With tech at its core and venture capital at its back, the brand rapidly expanded across Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia.  But as the post-pandemic economy shifted back into stores and consumer habits evolved, cracks began to show in the hyper-growth model. Some markets proved harder to sustain. Delivery-based purchases plateaued. The economics of convenience-only retail were no longer enough to drive profitability or loyalty.  At the end of 2023, Flash Coffee started to withdraw from markets, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.  “We paused our regional push and took a hard look at what was actually working,” Angele said. “Our goal is to concentrate on the basics, building a solid foundation that ensures long-term growth.”  This introspection led to a complete strategic overhaul. The company streamlined operations and doubled down on its strongest opportunity in Indonesia, its home market.  Flash Coffee’s refocus on Indonesia, however, isn’t just about home advantage.  “Indonesia is a large and competitive market, but that’s exactly why there remains significant opportunity for Flash Coffee if it can successfully tap into local market dynamics and consumer tastes,” he explained. A reboot built on soul, not speed  Last month, Flash Coffee secured $3 million in new funding led by TA Ventures and existing investor White Star Capital. The company said the latest investment aimed to support its new phase of growth.  Flash Coffee plans to open more than 70 new stores in Indonesia by the end of the year, including expansion into two additional cities. However, the focus is shifting. Growth will be pursued with a more focused emphasis on profitability, brand strength, and long-term sustainability.  “We’re not just adding stores. We’re adding the right stores,” Angele explained. “Every new location has to meet a high bar for performance, design, and customer engagement.”  Store-level profitability backs up this disciplined expansion. Every store in Indonesia is now profitable, with an average EBITDA of 22 per cent and up to 36 per cent at newer outlets. The executive said the focus of the transformation is a reimagined store experience, which was designed around what customers crave, including comfort, familiarity, and connection to each other, to nature and to a sense of place.  “They want something cosier, something familiar, something nicer. They’re very much about being connected to nature, culture and to each other,” shared Angele.  Flash Coffee now prioritises mid-sized locations, typically between 70sqm and 150sqm, that support both efficiency and dwell time. These units strike the ideal balance between financial viability and creating a space where customers can relax and stay a while.  The brand is also eyeing spaces such as office towers, where coffee demand is high but often overlooked.  Flash Coffee has also reinvented its interior design language, delivering a cafe concept that feels uniquely Indonesian and unmistakably premium. The new stores use natural textures, regional materials, lush greenery, and communal seating to foster warmth and comfort. A refreshed logo and a new ‘Kebanggaan Indonesia’ (translated as ‘Proudly Indonesian’) watermark reinforce cultural roots and authenticity. “We don’t have a template design which we copy and paste, so every single store we try out some new elements and see how that resonates with customers,” Angele shared.  “We put it into stores, but then immediately we think about what we can further improve for the next two stores? What can we try out to slightly improve it for the next five stores? And it’s never a big thing, right? It’s never a seismic shift. It’s always some kind of smaller new element where we are optimising, but that’s what I believe leads us to a great experience.” In addition, the updated in-store experience goes hand-in-hand with a reworked menu that emphasises barista-crafted drinks, local ingredients, and seasonal specials, alongside pastry offerings.  A wake-up call for F&B startups?  Flash Coffee’s comeback strategy isn’t just about cutting costs or redesigning its menus. It’s a complete philosophical shift, which could be considered a ‘wake-up’ call for other F&B startups.  “From my perspective, Flash Coffee’s case wasn’t due to a lack of ambition or funding,” wrote Anwaar H Razmi, GM F&B at Domino’s Pizza, in a LinkedIn post.  “Being great at growth hacks, tech storytelling, and funding rounds doesn’t always translate into a sustainable F&B business. And Flash Coffee’s journey reminds us that building a beverage brand is hard. It’s not just about scale. It’s about the soul.”  According to Razmi, Flash Coffee’s transformation reflects a common challenge faced by many F&B startups, which is focusing too heavily on leveraging technology while neglecting the product itself and the value they aim to deliver to the community.  “I hope more founders and investors ask: ‘Do we understand the product and the people we serve?” he added.  “A coffee or beverage brand isn’t just about efficient ordering apps, striking aesthetics, or data dashboards. It’s about flavour, consistency, hospitality, and creating a space/brand where people want to return/frequently purchase. That’s the heartbeat of any enduring F&B brand.”