Specialty coffee beans eCommerce platform Cafebond.com has launched in Singapore, featuring in-house roasted beans from 15 Australian cafes.
Beans are roasted to order on a weekly basis, and delivered to customers within seven days at a flat shipping of S$10 (US$7.38) regardless of order size.
Cafebond.com has been funded by Quest Ventures, a China venture capital fund, and has gone through incubation with Infocomm Investments, a subsidiary of Singapore government’s tech agency IMDA (Info-communications and Media Development Authority).
Cafebond.com is also one of four startups chosen by Microsoft Singapore to be co-located within its Asia Pacific headquarters, and is part of DBS Hotspot 2016, the startup support program by DBS Bank.
Leading the lineup of Australian cafes featured by Cafebond.com is world barista champion Sasa Sestic’s Ona Coffee, a specialty coffee cafe from Canberra. The other cafes, all from Melbourne, are: Auction Rooms, Clement Coffee, Code Black Coffee, Dukes Coffee, Industry Beans, Market Lane, Monk Bodhi Dharma, Omar and the Marvellous Coffee Bird, Padre Coffee, Sensory Lab, Seven Seeds, St Ali, The Vertue of the Coffee Drink, and Wide Open Road.
Ona Coffee is breaking new ground in sourcing undiscovered coffee beans through Project Origin, an initiative pioneered by the cafe.
With more than 2000 small and independent coffee roasters, Melbourne is leading the global charge in specialty coffee as listed by BBC Travel, CNN and the Huffington Post. Last year, the New York Times reported a global invasion of Australian-style cafes reaching as far as London, Paris and Singapore.
Cafebond.com is partnering with Tourism Victoria to promote and share Melbourne’s distinct coffee culture in Singapore. “Coffee is at heart of Melbourne city,” says Tourism Victoria regional manager Celia Ho.
Sasa Sestic was in Singapore for the Cafebond.com launch, with his documentary film The Coffee Man having its Singapore premiere in conjunction with the event, with Australian High Commissioner Philip Green as guest of honour.
Cafebond.com’s official launch was presented by RHB Bank and sponsored by Canon, Elements & Co, E-Nov8ight, Epicure, Fiji Water, Flight Centre, Jeep, L’Officiel, Mandarin Orchard, QBE, Schmick Coffee TV, The PR Salon and Uber. It was supported by Hello Bicycle!, Max. Tan, Microsoft Bizspark, SG Pow Wow and Quest Ventures.
Meanwhile, Cafebond.com plans to expand to other Asian cities such as China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and also widen its brands by embracing other coffee cities.
