Oddle began in 2014 when three restaurateurs cooked up their vision for a sustainable ecosystem to modernise Asia’s food and beverage (“F&B”) industry. Building on Stripe Payments and Stripe Connect, it has grown into a platform used by over 3,000 F&B businesses – from Michelin-starred restaurants to local hawker stalls – in more than ten countries across Asia.

Oddle’s solution turned from a “nice to have” into a “need to have” when the F&B industry was hit by COVID-19 - especially in 2021 when resurgent waves and new variants forced Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong to reinstate dining-in restrictions. Restaurants that were just reopening had to shut their doors again at a moment’s notice and were forced to find new revenue sources to stay afloat.

They turned to Oddle and were able to quickly set up a digital store, manage orders, collect payments from diners online, and start delivering meals. In an industry where cash flow is critical and additional administrative time can put a business at risk, Stripe made it possible for Oddle to offer F&B businesses a vital additional revenue stream, as well as greater flexibility, efficiency, and peace of mind.

Getting Asia’s restaurants online overnight

It was the lifeline restaurants were looking for: in May 2021 alone, Oddle recorded a ten-fold increase of new restaurants in Singapore on its platform, compared to the early months of the year when dining in was permitted.

With Oddle and Stripe, restaurants could get online in as little as 24 hours and start delivering meals. Michelin-starred restaurants like Burnt Ends and Summer Pavilion, local eateries Keng Eng Kee Seafood and Swee Choon Tim Sum Restaurant were able to seamlessly grow a new source of income when they needed it most, instead of spending too much time dealing with technical or logistical integrations.

Powering the lifeline of timely payouts

Another vital area of concern for restaurants was ensuring steady cash flow, in order to pay for the fresh ingredients they needed every day. Oddle addressed this using Stripe Connect, which accurately, reliably and securely ensures payments from diners are channeled to the correct restaurants.

“Our ability to pay restaurant partners quickly is key,” says Alan Goh, Chief Revenue Officer at Oddle. “In the F&B industry where margins are slim, businesses need to have adequate cash flow. The businesses need to have that money in hand in a timely manner to benefit from this new and important revenue stream, especially as they tackle the pressures posed by the pandemic.”

As consumers get used to dine-at-home experiences for every kind of meal, working with Stripe has enabled Oddle to help its customers future-proof by widening potential customer reach and building digital revenue streams for what was once a traditionally offline industry. Now, restaurants have a completely new revenue stream and, when doors eventually reopen, they will no longer be bound by the number of tables they have available.