Taku Tanaka
Ex-COO of Pizza 4P's who built Vietnam's first B2B food sourcing platform for restaurants
Notable Quotes
“Procurement departments aren't working efficiently because the purchasing process is too chaotic. Each buyer uses a different tool to contact suppliers.”
“In a price-sensitive market like Vietnam, competing on price alone is a losing game.”
“You can't control others, but you can try to control yourself.”
Advice
Stop buying ingredients the chaotic way
Running to the market daily, calling 5-6 suppliers, no price comparison — wastes time, creates errors, and kills your negotiating power.
Healthy margins matter more than revenue
Stable cash flow, healthy profit margins, financial discipline — that's the foundation of sustainability.
First model failed? Pivot fast
KAMEREO started as SaaS — just connecting without creating value. The pivot to full-service B2B e-commerce is what worked.
Key Highlights
- ✓Ex-COO of Pizza 4P's — expanded from 1 to 10 stores in 3 years
- ✓Founded KAMEREO (2018) — Vietnam's first B2B food sourcing platform
- ✓Raised $15M+ total, serving 3,000+ restaurants, 100+ farmer partners
- ✓Forbes Asia 100 to Watch 2025
Biography
Taku Tanaka (b. 1989, Japan) graduated from Keio University and worked as an equity research analyst at Credit Suisse Tokyo. In 2015, he joined Pizza 4P's as COO, helping expand from 1 to 10 stores in 3 years. At Pizza 4P's, he witnessed the chaos of restaurant procurement firsthand: different purchasers using different tools, no system, no price transparency. In 2018, he co-founded KAMEREO — the first B2B platform connecting restaurants with farmers and suppliers in Vietnam. After pivoting from a failed SaaS model to full-service B2B e-commerce, KAMEREO achieved 15% month-over-month growth for 12 consecutive months. Now serving 3,000+ F&B businesses, partnering with 100+ farmers, offering 16,000+ SKUs. Named in Forbes Asia 100 to Watch 2025.
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