Grofers Business Model : Explained by the Founders

Did someone say grocery delivery on the doorstep? Hallelujah!!

Who has the time and energy to drive all the way to the grocery store, find a parking spot, hunt for all the items on the shopping list, wait in the way-too-long queue for way-too-many minutes, carry all the heavy bags to the car, and reach home looking tired and worn out…..

…..when you have the perfect alternative of sitting at the comfort of your home or office, ordering everything through an on-demand grocery delivery app, selecting the delivery time and location, making cashless payments, and receiving your grocery without any unnecessary trouble.

This is how the world of On Demand looks and feels like. It is convenient, time as well as labor-saving, practical and affordable. And service providers in this arena are flourishing like never before.

One such promising on-demand grocery delivery startup is India-based Grofers; which is not only connecting customers with nearby retail stores but also delivering groceries within 90 minutes.

In conversation with Saurabh Kumar and Albinder Dhindsa, co-founders of Grofers about their Business Model.

Q: What is Grofers?

A: Grofers is an m-commerce marketplace for your daily shopping. It allows you to shop from your favorite store in your neighborhood and get delivery within 90 minutes. You can shop for groceries, Fruits & Vegetables, Bakery items, Flowers, Meats, Pet Care, Baby Care, and Cosmetics products with just a few taps. You can get everything delivered instantly or schedule it for a convenient time later.

Q: How does Grofers work?

A: We work on a marketplace model to replace the trip to local shops for our consumers by bringing merchants (and their inventory) online. You can shop for groceries, Bakery, Pet Supplies, Cosmetics, and soon pharmacies and appliances on the Grofers app.

Q: Tell us the Grofers story.

A: Grofers was built to solve a very basic problem – we have to go to a store nearby for daily needs. The problem led to the Grofers business model that we are currently working on.

Q: What sets Grofers apart from the competition?

A: Our focus on customer satisfaction is what sets us apart from our competitors. Ensuring on-time delivery and good quality of products has made our customers use and be loyal to our service. The breadth of categories we offer also sets us apart from our competition which is only focused on groceries.

Q: Put some light on the technology used to build Grofers?

A: We have an internal engineering team that builds the technology infrastructure. We have invested a lot in building robust platforms and applications that streamline our operations and work as the foundation of our growth.

Q: What was technically the most challenging part of developing Grofers?

A: Building a new behavior among users and suppliers is always a big challenge. Our consumers and merchants are used to making a trip to their local market for daily shopping. Over a period of time, we have managed to build trust among our users and create a shift in their shopping behavior.

Q: How are you marketing Grofers to make it a first preference in the market?

A: We focus on delivering the best customer service to our customers. We believe that there is no better marketing than having your customers speak about your service.

Q: How is Grofers empowering the on-demand market?

A: We are bringing offline retailers online and our users can get anything delivered from their favorite stores to their doorstep within minutes. Our users now don’t have to spend time going to a local market for their daily shopping. They have an option to get everything delivered to their doorstep. The on-demand industry has seen a big push recently. People have started appreciating services that are customer-centric.

Q: How are you planning to position Grofers against the prospective competition, and how will you sustain your USP?

A: We believe that our customers will help us position ourselves in the market. There is nothing more satisfying than a happy customer for us. Internally, we are working hard on making our operations and technology better.

Q: Approximately, how many orders do you book in a single day?

A: We are clocking approximately 2000 orders a day.

Q: Grofers raised $35M in the recent round of funding. What would be your future plans for expanding Grofers?

A: Technology and operations, being the core of our business, will attract most of the investment. We are planning to expand in new cities such as Pune (recently launched) and Hyderabad (soon!). We are also adding new verticals to our business such as cosmetics, pharmacy, and electronics.

Q: Where do you see Grofers 5 years down the line?

A: We want to change how people shop from stores around them. We aim to bring offline retailers online and help them grow. In the next 5 years, we hope to bring change in the lives of our customers and help them spend time doing what they love the most.

Q: What is the biggest hurdle that you faced or are still facing?

A: Our retail industry has not changed for decades. We are working to empower all the merchants with technology so that they can manage their business better.

Q: What are you most excited about at this moment?

A: Nothing makes us happier than seeing a smile on the faces of our customers. Our brand value is drawn from the satisfaction of our consumers.

Q: Which Entrepreneur do you admire the most?

A: Every merchant in every locality is an entrepreneur, setting up shop and dealing with their daily business needs – customers, logistics, supply chain, manpower, etc. We want to partner with the local merchants and bring them to the online world.

Q: Any word of advice for all the startups out there who are trying to make it big like Grofers.

A: Be PERSISTENT! That’s the best advice that can be given. It is still easy to create and execute a vision but there will be many hurdles and pros and cons to it. It will shake your determination but all you really need to do is stick to it and not give up!

What is your business model?

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