DailyCo, a fast-growing food and beverage operator in Indonesia, has acquired Waku, a leading catering and canteen management firm. The move strengthens DailyCo’s presence in the institutional food services sector, marking a key step in consolidating Indonesia’s highly fragmented food market.
Waku currently serves over 10 million meals annually across 20 cities, reaching 658 corporate and government clients. Its diverse menu features more than 15,000 items, and the company has achieved both profitability and an impressive 88% year-on-year revenue growth.
Notably, Waku has secured a prestigious contract with Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs to provide pre-packaged meals for Hajj pilgrims. Despite the acquisition, Waku will continue operating as a subsidiary, keeping its current systems, partners, and clients intact.
DailyCo aims to unlock new synergies by enhancing its supply chain, kitchen infrastructure, and enterprise sales capabilities. By absorbing Waku’s B2B strengths, DailyCo is better positioned to win more institutional contracts and expand its influence in the enterprise catering space.
Consolidation Signals Growth in a Fragmented Market
This acquisition comes at a pivotal time. Indonesia’s food service industry is booming. The market is projected to grow from $62.4 billion in 2025 to $115 billion by 2030, fueled by a strong 13% CAGR. Drivers include urbanization, a growing middle class, and evolving workplace dining habits.
As Indonesia modernizes, businesses and government offices demand higher-quality, tech-enabled catering. DailyCo and Waku are now poised to meet this demand more effectively. The deal mirrors global food industry trends, where companies focus on acquiring specialists to expand within key market segments rather than pursuing risky, all-encompassing mergers.
With Waku’s impressive 98% client retention rate and established operational footprint, DailyCo can confidently scale services while maintaining high standards. The partnership reflects a smart, focused approach to expansion—one that prioritizes service consistency and digital innovation over rapid but unstable growth.
By combining Waku’s operational excellence with DailyCo’s scale, the new entity is equipped to serve more institutional clients with improved consistency and technology-driven solutions.
Talent Strategy Boosts Post-Merger Integration Success
Beyond business metrics, this acquisition is also notable for its human capital strategy. DailyCo appointed Waku’s founder, Anthony Gunawan, as its new Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). This move shows that DailyCo values leadership talent and aims to leverage Gunawan’s proven expertise across its entire organization.
In food industry M&A, retaining top talent is often more important than the assets acquired. According to Baker Tilly research, cultural integration and leadership gaps are top reasons why many food service mergers fail to deliver expected synergies.
By giving Gunawan a group-wide leadership role instead of confining him to the Waku unit, DailyCo ensures that his insights and experience guide the company’s broader workforce strategy. This talent-centric approach reduces friction and promotes alignment across teams.
Waku’s staff already proved their capability by expanding into 20 cities and maintaining high client satisfaction. Integrating their management practices with DailyCo’s broader systems could boost performance across all units.
Moreover, the deal taps into Indonesia’s growing digital economy. The digital sector is expected to add $44 billion to GDP by 2025, enabling food providers to improve efficiency through automation and smart logistics.
With 64% of Indonesians using food delivery apps, DailyCo-Waku can leverage digital platforms for ordering, inventory, and delivery tracking, key features for servicing over 650 institutional clients efficiently.
This tech integration allows the company to offer smart catering solutions aligned with Indonesia’s digital transformation goals. It also strengthens their competitive edge as more organizations seek digitally integrated food services.
DailyCo’s acquisition of Waku is more than a growth play. It’s a well-structured move that combines operational excellence, digital readiness, and leadership strategy to position the company as a dominant force in Indonesia’s institutional food services sector.
