honestbee

honestbee
Screenshot
Type of site
 Privately held company
Founded 23 July 2015 (23 July 2015)
Headquarters Singapore
Area served Singapore, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Taipei, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Manila, Tokyo
Created by Joel Sng, Isaac Tay, Jonathan Low
Industry Retail
Services Grocery delivery, food delivery, laundry delivery, parcel delivery
Website honestbee.sg

honestbee is an online grocery and food delivery service as its core business, a concierge service, and also a parcel delivery service for its B2B clients.[1] The company provides personal shoppers that pick products for its clients.[2][3] Consumers utilize the company's mobile app or website to interface with the company, and the store pickers and retail stores also utilize the mobile app.[4][5] In Singapore, honestbee also provides laundry collection services.[3]

History

The company was launched in Singapore on 23 July 2015 [6] and after that time also launched in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangkok, Philippines and Japan.[1][4][7][8][9][10][11][12] The company was founded by Joel Sng, Isaac Tay, and Jonathan Low and has backing from venture capital companies in Asia and the United States.[13]

Services

Grocery

Partnering both supermarkets and specialty stores, customers are able to shop a wide range of grocery options. Brands such as FairPrice, Jones the Grocer, Tesco, Emporium Shokuhin can be found on their platform. The grocery business is available in all 8 countries in which honestbee operates.

Food

honestbee launched their food delivery service in February 2017. First in Singapore, then rolled out in Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand. As of May 2018, they’ve become an exclusive partner of MOS Burger in Singapore.

Laundry

Launched in September 2016, the laundry service is currently only available in Singapore. Customers are able to get their laundry picked up, cleaned, and delivered back in 2 days time.

Tickets

Launched in late 2017, the Ticketing service is currently only available in Singapore. Customers are able to purchase tickets to WE Cinemas, direct from the app. It also serves as an aggregator of all movie timings, across the different movie chains in Singapore.


Presence

honestbee is operating in 8 countries in Asia:

- Singapore

- Malaysia

- Thailand

- Indonesia

- Japan

- Philippines

- Hong Kong

- Taiwan

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.[14][15] 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.[16]

Worker pay

In 2015, honestbee stated it was paying Singapore workers "up to SGD $14 (about $10) an hour;"[17] 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.[18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Sim, Walter (July 20, 2017). "Singapore grocery concierge service Honestbee buzzes towards 'global store' concept". The Straits Times. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  2. ↑ Woodhouse, Alice (November 8, 2016). "Honestbee brings fresh buzz to convenience shopping". South China Morning Post. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Low, Aloysius (September 14, 2016). "Asia-based grocery delivery startup Honestbee adds laundry services to its lineup". CNET. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Roxas, Stephanie (June 24, 2017). "SG-based mobile app grocery delivery service expands to PH". Newsbytes Philippines. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  5. ↑ Iwamoto, Kentaro (September 4, 2017). "Honestbee wants to help, not disrupt, Tokyo grocery stores- Nikkei Asian Review". The Nikkei. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". Tech in Asia. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  7. ↑ "honestbee Delivers Groceries in an Hour". Foodie. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Honestbee's Joel Sng Sets Big Regional Goals for Grocery Delivery Startup". Forbes Asia. February 24, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  9. ↑ Leesa-Nguansuk, Suchit (April 25, 2017). "Honestbee sweetens Thai operations budget". Bangkok Post. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Honestbee officially launches in Indonesia". 80 Quartier. February 15, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  11. ↑ Kandasivam, Anushia (March 3, 2017). "honestbee launches in Malaysia". Digital News Asia. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  12. ↑ Tegos, Michael. "Honestbee launches its grocery delivery service in Thailand". Tech in Asia. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Online grocery startup Honestbee raises $15M from Silicon Valley to deliver the goods". Tech in Asia. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  14. ↑ Swerdloff, Alex (March 1, 2016). "An Asian Grocer's April Fools' Joke About Panda Meat Seriously Backfired". Vice. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  15. ↑ Balea, Judith (March 30, 2016). "Honestbee's exotic meats sale: an April Fools' prank gone wrong?". Tech in Asia. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  16. ↑ Ravikrishnan, Ashutosh (March 30, 2016). "'Sale' of panda meat, koala sausages part of endangered animals awareness campaign: honestbee". Today. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  17. ↑ Shu, Catherine (October 20, 2015). "Singaporean On-Demand Grocery Startup Honestbee Gets $15M To Expand To Six New Asian Countries". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  18. ↑ Ho, Olivia (May 10, 2016). "Freelancers for honestbee feeling the sting". The Straits Times. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
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