The Lunch Actually Group, Southeast Asia’s largest dating service provider has done it again.
Just today, they’ve announced in a press release that they have raised a 7-digit Series A round of funding from Japanese social networking service and publisher mixi, and Fatfish Internet Group, a Southeast Asian and Australian-based ventures investment and development firm.
mixi is well-known for their massively popular mobile game, Monster Strike.
Said Hiroki Morita, President of mixi, “We are impressed by the ecology that Lunch Actually Group has built as well as its ability to monetise its entire ecology through upselling and cross-selling. […] We believe that their focus on innovation will enable them to maintain their stronghold in the Asian market.”
Kin-Wai Lau, CEO of Fatfish Internet Group also had great things to say about the Lunch Actually Group.
“We first got to know the team behind the Lunch Actually Group when one of our portfolio companies, Love Out Loud Asia (LOLA), was acquired by them. We were impressed by Lunch Actually Group’s outstanding achievements and track record, as well as their excellent reputation and brand name. […] We look forward to working with the team to grow even more rapidly in the coming years.”
The Group has had several successful acquisitions. It acquired Singapore’s homegrown dating app Love Out Loud Asia (LOLA) in 2014, and MeetnLunch, Thailand’s #1 matchmaking service provider in 2015.
Since 2011 till now, the group’s revenues have grown by more than 500%.
They plan to use the new funding to fuel its growth in its existing markets – Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, and also expand to one more market.
In light of their expansion efforts, they will also be recruiting more staff across the board, and boosting their marketing efforts.
Their Strategy? Creating A “Dating Ecology” In Asia
Founded by husband and wife team Violet Lim and Jamie Lee, the Lunch Actually Group was first launched as a two-person startup with a focus on physical dating services.
It has since expanded to over six key cities in Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta and Penang), with a current team consisting of over 110 associates. The Group’s focus has also branched out to verticals within the dating industry, both online and off, in a bid to create a “dating ecology”.
How the Group does this is via four products that serve singles with different needs – Lunch Actually, LunchClick (the Group’s answer to Tinder), esync, and the Lunch Actually Academy.
“Our group’s firm commitment to creating the most effective dating platform for singles is what propels us ahead of our competitors. By understanding the needs of singles, we realise that there is no “one size fits all” approach,” said Violet Lim, CEO and co-founder of Lunch Actually Group.
“Most singles use more than one dating platform before they succeed in their dating journey. Within our own database, 40% of our singles are using more than one dating product within our ecology.”
Currently, the Group also has more than half a million members in its database and has arranged over 70,000 dates, with “thousands of successful couples and marriages under its belt”.
From the rate of their expansion, and their commitment to making sure that singles benefit from their various platforms, we can only predict that more successful matches will be made soon enough.
Feature Image Credit: Lunch Actually Group