It was 10 years ago on Sept. 15, 2011 that the first-ever Coconuts story was published from the Bangkok apartment of our founder Byron Perry.
What started out as a local source to find out what’s happening in Thailand’s capital has evolved over the past decade into a kickass news network spanning eight cities across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong with a sizzling documentary and entertainment arm, an in-brand studio, and a host of other media holdings.
It’s been a hell of a ride and we have you Coconauts, our readers, supporters of independent, local journalism, lovers of hard-hitting, viral, AND goofy news, in large part to thank for that.
So please join us with a scroll down memory lane to look at some of our exciting milestones. It’s been a lot of hard work, with blood (mostly figurative), plenty of sweat (it sure gets hot in Southeast Asia!), and tears (mainly of joy) along the way.
From the website and project launches to the awards to major licensing deals with power players, it’s been an epic decade.
2011
Sept 15
Founder Byron Perry launches Coconuts Bangkok, publishes first ever articles on crocodiles loose from a farm in Pattaya, Thailand
Spencer Weed joins as Technology & Design Director
October
Praj Kiatpongsan joins as Coconuts Bangkok editor
2013
Feb 23
Coconuts TV, our documentary arm telling weird and wondrous stories from across Southeast Asia led by Multimedia Director Alexander Hotz, releases first video on YouTube
April 4
Newly redesigned Coconuts.co website launches, with Coconuts Bangkok and Coconuts Manila combined into new URL.
Coconuts Jakarta launches led by editors Anand Mathai and Andra Nasrie
Oct
Coconuts Bali launches, led by Julianne Greco, who ultimately rises to Audience Development Manager
Coconuts surpasses 3 million unique monthly users for the first time.
Our story on CY Leung’s daughter in Hong Kong — which at the time was our biggest story ever — gets picked up in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Daily Mail, Huffington Post, and Business Insider.
2015
Feb 26
Coconuts Yangon launches, led by editors Poppy McPherson and Joseph Freeman
June
Coconuts Bangkok’s “Hidden in Plain Sight” series, reported by Dana MacLean, examining the plight of the Thai capital’s street children wins an Honorable Mention for Excellence in Feature Writing by The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA).
2016
March
Coconuts launches Siam Island Hopper series with Singha Beer, a series of travel videos serving as a one-stop insider guide to the good life on the paradise islands of Thailand.
Philip Nugroho joins as Technical Lead, managing all Coconuts websites and tech
2018
Feb. 2
First edition sent out of Indonesia Intelligencer, our premium weekly newsletter on the top politics, business, and current events straight outta Indonesia.
Our membership program for independent media-loving fans and supporters of our juicy original content, COCO+ launches.
Cindy Kuan joins as Managing Editor: Food, Lifestyle & Travel
June
The Coconuts Podcast hits the airwaves: a weekly discussion of the stories coursing through our eight newsrooms across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.
October
Coconuts puts a spin on the happy hour and after-work forum with event-series Coconuts Colloquiums with panels in Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong. More events followed in 2019 in these cities plus Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Bali.
November
COCONUTS TV ON IFLIX nabs two Asian Academy Creative Awards for Malaysia for Best Current Affairs Programme/Series and Best Original Programme by a Streamer/OTT
“Can You Hack It?” launches: a series of short videos in a licensing deal with Singapore streaming service Toggle that document scientific experiments, which are conducted to verify or dispel “life hacks.” Produced by Chaz Kim.
Yo! MTV Raps comes out, a reboot of the iconic hip hop show launched in 1988. Coconuts was stoked to work on the show celebrating the explosion of hip hop culture through an Asian lens on music, fashion and lifestyle, hosted by global DJ, producer and model Kim Lee and Singaporean rapper and songwriter, Yung Raja.
Coconuts TV original documentary NAGALAND: TWILIGHT OF THE HEADHUNTERS broadcasts on Discovery Asia. The documentary explores Nagaland, the isolated sliver of India sandwiched between Myanmar and the Himalayas, and is a quest to track down some of the last living Naga headhunters.
Our official merch store, The Coconuts Shop goes live, so Coconauts can proudly support independent media and rep their cities.
US private equity firm, Raven Capital management, finances a slate of TV projects from Coconuts TV, kicking off with pilots for seven unscripted TV shows in a partnership on global licensing and distribution deals for the series.
Coconuts Media acquires BK Magazine, Thailand’s leading English-language food and lifestyle media brand. In the asset sale deal, Coconuts Media also acquires all Thailand brands and businesses from Asia City Media Group, the owner of BK Magazine, including: up-and-coming Thai-language culture website Soimilk, leading Thailand restaurant awards Top Tables, BK Restaurant Week, Asia City Studio, and Top Spots Thailand.
September
Juhi Bimbhet joins as Head of Grove: Coconuts Media Brand Studio
2021
July
Coconuts collaborates with Indonesian artist Eugenia Clara to create an eye-catching pack of physical and digital GIPHY stickers (which to date have over 13 million views) as well as limited edition merch.
August
Coconuts snags sextuplet of WAN-IFRA awards with first-place in four categories in our division for small news media companies:
Best Use of Online Video for “Dark Corners of the Web,” our Coconuts TV original documentary on how foreign pedophiles are preying on Filipino children in cases of online sexual exploitation, reported by Rachel Malaguit
Best Marketing Campaign for News Brand for our Coconuts GIPHY artist collaboration with Indonesian graphic designer Eugenia Clara
Best News Website or Mobile Service for the development and design of the current version of our Coconuts.co site
And second-place in two categories:
Runner-up (to ourselves!) in Best Use of Online Video for “Body Positivity with Worwear in Thailand | Kinnari”
Thanks for being a part of the journey, now come join the party! We’ve got limited edition merch, a massive giveaway, and more birthday goodies in store for you, Coconauts!
