Honestbee expanded to 8 markets on $75M and owed S$320M when it stopped

Honestbee was founded in Singapore in July 2015 as an on-demand grocery delivery service. Personal shoppers picked orders from partner supermarkets and delivered them to customers' doors. The model expanded quickly: food delivery, laundry service, concierge tasks and parcel delivery were layered on top of the grocery base, and the company pushed into eight markets across Southeast Asia. Total funding raised was approximately $75 million.

None of the markets or service lines achieved profitable unit economics. The burn rate was high, margins on grocery delivery were thin, and each new service and each new country added fixed cost before it added revenue. By early 2019, suppliers reported payment delays. On 17 May 2019, Honestbee ceased food delivery in Singapore and paused its laundry service. Operations wound down across other markets through the rest of the year.

In July 2020, Honestbee was placed under formal liquidation. The company owed S$319.9 million to former staff, trade vendors and unsecured creditors. The secured creditor, Formation Group, recovered approximately S$700,000 from remaining assets. Former employees and suppliers received nothing. The liquidation filing noted that the company had no funds remaining to distribute.