Food company Grain ties up with TSLA

Singapore-based online food company Grain has partnered with The Secret Little Agency to grow the Grain brand globally. This comes after a closed-door pitch involving several regional and international agencies.According to the agreement between both parties, Grain and TSLA will partner in a fee-for-equity exchange that will allow TSLA to own a part of the business it is helping design and shape. TSLA Design will be tapped on for brand strategy, positioning and architecture duties before moving into brand and creative development for how Grain is expressed both locally and regionally as the brand gears up for international expansion.Yi Sung Yong, founder of Grain said the level of care, understanding and TSLA’s UX first approach to design really impressed the team, adding that among the several other agencies, TSLA was by far, “the best”. Yi said that the team wants to disrupt the F&B landscape and evolve with consumer preferences, and at the same time have solid fundamentals.Hanyi Lee, partner at The Secret Little Agency said with an ambitious clients like Grain, there is a compelling brand story to tell, and the team at TSLA looks forward to embedding its creativity in every facet of Grain’s business to build a global food brand “like no other”.“Beyond just time, energy and the usual fee, we get to work with a like-minded partner to invest our creativity and grow something together. This is where it gets really fun!” Lee said.Just last week, Grain ramped up growth in Singapore and expansion to other Asian cities starting with Bangkok after raising US$10 million in Series B funding. The company also said it will be tapping on the expertise of Singha Corporation, which is part of Boonrawd Brewery Group in Thailand with a strong presence in food and beverages.The round of funding is led by Singha Ventures, a corporate venture capital fund of Singha Corporation. The new investment will be used to build infrastructure to support revenue of US$100 million and accelerate growth in Singapore.Earlier this month, industry veteran Richard Bleasdale joined TSLA to take on the newly created role of managing director. Bleasdale brings over 30 years of experience as both a global agency leader and counsel to C-level clients around the world. His last stint was at The Observatory in Asia Pacific, helming the role of a principal consultant.