HONESTBEE Philippines said it is temporarily suspending operations in the country following the same business decision for its Hong Kong and Thailand units.

The food and grocery delivery service said in a statement: “Our operations in the Philippines will be temporarily unavailable while our headquarters works towards bringing the total business to a healthy and sustainable level.”

Honestbee sent an e-mail to its customers, saying the company “looks forward to serving you again.” It did not give other details.

The Singapore-based startup said in a statement Tuesday the suspension of operations in Hong Kong and Thailand was meant to “simplify what we do and how we do it to better meet what our consumers want.”

This decision, however, affected roles within the company amounting to approximately 6% of Honestbee’s global headcount.

“Following a strategic review of our company’s business, we are temporarily suspending our food verticals in Hong Kong and Thailand…. The status of Honestbee in the remaining markets remain unchanged as we evaluate and we will continue to operate and contribute to Honestbee Pte Ltd,” it said.

Honestbee started its Manila operations in 2017 after opening the company in Singapore in 2014. It eventually made its services available in some parts of Cebu last year.

It tapped Robinsons Supermarket as its grocery partner in the country, aside from other small and medium-sized restaurants, supermarkets and businesses.

Aside from the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand, Honestbee also has presence in Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia. — Denise A. Valdez

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