Meet David Brunier, Founder of Flash Coffee and member of the Robb Report Singapore Thought Leaders community

David Brunier founded his first startup while still in university, before spending a decade in the F&B industry, working several years as CEO and chief marketing officer for Foodora in various European markets and Asia Pacific. Then in 2019, he co-founded Flash Coffee with Sebastian Hannecker, a technology-driven coffee chain serving high-quality coffee to the growing Asian middle class through more than 250 stores across six markets in the Asia Pacific.

Who or what has shaped who you are?

My family – there is nothing more fulfilling and motivating than them. A lot of people told me that I had to choose between my career and my family before I had children, and I couldn’t disagree more. I have always been self-motivated and driven, and my wife and children have managed to unlock a new level of determination in me that made me shift gears and floor the pedal even harder.

Why are you passionate about what you do?

I’ve wanted to build things all my life. When I was around four years old, I wanted to become an inventor. I had no idea what an entrepreneur was at that time, but I knew I wanted to create products with great people around me.

What is the future for this industry?

I believe we’re just in the early stages of leveraging and incorporating technology into the F&B industry. Consumers across Asia are increasingly shifting to online channels, and this has accelerated with the majority of people working from home and only heading to the office occasionally or when the need arises. This emphasises the importance of technology integration to respond to and shape the post-pandemic lifestyle – where we see that delivery and convenient pre-order for pick-up will continue to be ubiquitous in the hospitality and F&B industry. Technology will bring the whole industry to the next level, empowering retailers to further optimise their product range, customise the pricing to consumer needs and likelihood to purchase, and generally make much better, data-driven decisions – and at Flash Coffee we aim to be the pioneers in this.

Editor’s note: Get to know the full Thought Leaders community here.

Photography by Sayher Heffernan
Styling by Wei Lun Tok
Hair & Makeup by Angel Gwee
Credits: Chanel Beauty and L’Oréal Hair Professional