While many in the F&B industry have felt the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic, 3 SQUARE - a digital foodhall network and virtual restaurant group - today announced that it has successfully raised an oversubscribed seed round of US$1.2 million.

3 SQUARE Victor J. Chow and team
3 SQUARE Victor J. Chow and team

3 SQUARE raised a round of investment from leading Taiwanese department store chain Hanshin Department Store Co. Ltd and foodtech VC firm Foodland Ventures. Prominent family offices and angel investors have also participated. The funding will be used to scale the business in Taiwan and prepare for its entry into Southeast and North Asia.

The company was founded in 2020 by Victor J. Chow. Victor, previously an executive at food delivery platforms honestbee and foodpanda, has extensive experience servicing over 5,000 restaurants in Taiwan and 25,000 restaurants across the Asia Pacific region. His love of food and respect for restaurant owners started at a young age, where he grew up in an immigrant family that owned, operated and invested in multiple restaurants.

"With COVID-19 leading to the closure of restaurants and bars, many restaurant owners are looking for an alternative to the traditional brick and mortar restaurant business model in order to cope with the significant shift inconsumer demand from dine-in to delivery, a rapidly changing F&B market and high overhead costs. 3 SQUARE eliminates barriers to growth, reduces risk and enables partners to grow profitably by providing upgraded cloud kitchen spaces," says Victor, 3 SQUARE's chief executive.

3 SQUARE's first location is in the center of Taipei City, with twenty restaurant brands available for delivery, takeaway and dine-in. Popular restaurant partners include new brands from the Michelin-starred MUME Group and 30 year old night market standout Shi Yuan Taiwanese Fried Chicken.

3 SQUARE also has a virtual restaurant group with six in-house fully branded restaurant concepts available at launch. These menus are developed using big data and trend analysis with culinary design and consumer insights for the best foods that customers crave.

3 SQUARE is preparing for the next round of fundraising to accelerate an expansion of 300 brands in the 3 SQUARE ecosystem across Southeast and North Asia, with the vision to become the most impactful cloud kitchen network and virtual brand group in the region.

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