South Korean tableware rental and cleaning startup Bbodek raised additional KRW 18 billion in Series B funding
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Bbodek, a South Korean tableware rental and cleaning startup, has secured an additional KRW 18 billion in Series B funding, bringing the total round to KRW 51 billion.
The investment comes about a year and two months after the company raised KRW 33 billion in Series B funding in June 2022. The round was led by IBK Investment & Securities and Uamco, with participation from Nextrans, IGIS Asset Management, Korea SMEs Startups Agency, and Hana Investment Securities.
Founded in August 2017, bbodek is South Korea’s first tableware rental and cleaning service startup. The company offers three main services: “bbodek Kids,” which provides sterilized tableware rental to daycare centers and kindergartens; “bbodek Biz,” which provides dishwashing and tableware rental services to restaurants; and “bbodek Eco,” which provides reusable tableware to replace disposables.
bbodek has distinguished itself from other companies in the research and development (R&D) field. To provide efficient and fast tableware delivery, the company has applied its own developed automated cleaning technology from its in-house research institute, the Cleantech Center (CTC). bbodek has also introduced a precision inspection system called “vision inspection,” which is used in the semiconductor industry, to improve the quality control of tableware.
This technology has led to improved profitability for bbodek. The company has been able to continuously reduce manufacturing costs through automated cleaning technology and efficient cleaning processes. In particular, the number of workers required for each tableware cleaning line has been reduced from 14 to 4. Logistics costs have also been declining as customer density increases in each region with the increase in customers.
bbodek has also secured growth potential by expanding its existing businesses. The company has surpassed 2,000 customers by providing tableware rental services to major domestic catering companies this year. In addition, since the first semester of this year, bbodek has been working with more than 10 elementary and middle schools that are struggling with a shortage of school lunch staff. bbodek explained that the company has been praised by cooks and nutritionists for eliminating the heavy workload of dishwashing in the cafeteria.
bbodek plans to use the new investment to enhance its technology and expand its service area. The company plans to increase its R&D spending, including hiring specialized personnel, and build large-scale cleaning factories to expand its service area to non-metropolitan areas. Currently, bbodek delivers tableware to all areas of the metropolitan area through its own logistics network.
bbodek CEO Park No-jun said, “The results of automation and data-based process efficiency through R&D are leading to increased profitability. We plan to use the investment funds for R&D and factory construction for service area expansion.”
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