Grofers ventures into instant delivery after raising $120 million from Zomato

Online grocery delivery firm Grofers, after having raised $120 million from public-listed firm Zomato, has forayed into instant deliveries and delivered to over 7,000 households in 15 minutes on July 26, said co-founder and chief executive Albinder Dhindsa.

In 2020, Grofers transformed its network of partners in Gurgaon to start sourcing directly from brands and also set up infrastructure that would enable them to serve end customers faster and with fewer touch points.

"Our work over the last 5 years allowed us the tools and the privilege of enabling an ecosystem that could promise to deliver groceries to every household in Gurgaon within 15 mins. Yesterday, over 7000 households experienced delivery within 15 mins," he added.

This is not Grofers first attempt at instant deliveries. The company had started it in the early years of its existence, but it was shut down owing to high burn and low ticket sizes.

In June, Grofers earlier raised $120 million from Zomato. Existing investor Tiger Global also participated in this round.

Zomato has sought approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to acquire a 9.3 percent stake in the firm.With this investment, Grofers will turn into a unicorn, a term used to describe privately funded technology startups that have a valuation of a billion dollars or more.