Brian Cu's Pasabuy Startup SariSuki Raises P550 Million in Venture Funding

Former president of Grab Philippines Brian Cu is back in the startup scene with his latest venture SariSuki, which has just secured $10.7 million (about P550 million) in venture round funding. Participating investors were Openspace Ventures, SIG, Global Founders Capital, Saison Capital, JG Digital Equity Ventures, and Foxmont Capital Partners. 

The funds will go toward optimizing product assortment, increasing dark warehouses, and expanding SariSuki's consumer reach.

SariSuki was founded in May 2021 by CEO Brian Cu, COO Philippe Lorenzo, chief commercial officer Bam Mejia, and head of strategy and fundraising Angelo Lee. In less than a year, SariSuki has grown 36 times, served about 60,000 consumers, increased its team to 100 employees, and started a quick commerce delivery app Supah. 

“Quick commerce is a way for us to expand into serving the segment of our market that seeks hyper-convenience for a hyper-local product mix for their daily needs,” said Cu.

What is SariSuki? 

SariSuki is a social commerce app that lets small businesses purchase fresh produce in bulk directly from local farmers and producers. The startup relies on an agent-assisted model that formalizes a concept utilized in countries like Indonesia and China—Community Group Buying. Purchasing items “pasabuy” is common among Filipino families, friends, and neighbors, but SariSuki lets users take it to the next step by offering discounted prices for purchasers. 

The idea for SariSuki began in early 2020 at the height of the pandemic when CEO Brian Cu’s wife, Kate, consolidated grocery orders for neighbors and purchased and resold her products at discounted prices. When lockdown urged majority of Filipinos to stay home, the number of unofficial “community sellers" increased. Cu and his fellow co-founders found that the strategy was a legitimate business model, and SariSuki was formed in May 2021. 

The startup now lives by its mission to “enrich the lives of communities by providing a platform to help themselves.” Offering supermarket-quality products at wet market prices, SariSuki’s community sellers can sustain a decent living with this new business model.