THE POSTER BOYS OF QUICK COMMERCE

WHILE THE 10-MINUTE DELIVERY DID CREATE A BUZZ, IT'S THE RANGE AND QUALITY OF OFFERINGS THAT ARE PROVING TO BE GAME-CHANGERS FOR ZEPTO.

- BY AJITA SHASHIDHAR

WHEN CHILDHOOD friends Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra first dabbled in hyperlocal delivery by launching Kiranakart in August 2020, the opportunity clearly was to solve for the hundreds of families in their neighbourhood in Mumbai's Andheri [East] who were stuck in their homes. It was the Covid-19 lockdown and consumers were more than willing to pay a premium to get basics delivered to their doorstep. The duo took orders on a WhatsApp group and personally delivered—milk, groceries, and even meat—on bikes within 40-45 minutes. A few months later, when they started expanding to the adjoining localities of Juhu and Bandra, they built the Kirana-kart app and tied up with local retailers to source the goods.

However, within a year, consumer preferences changed. The lockdown ended, and consumers were back to shopping from neighbourhood stores. "They wanted more consistent delivery because their options [kirana stores] were just 300 metres down the road," says Palicha. Their customers told the duo that they were using them because of the pandemic, "and if we didn't deliver at speed, offer a wider selection, and not keep quality [under] control, they wouldn't use us," he recalls.