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The TLDR: Investors are throwing money at delivery startups that promise instant gratification—which in turn is making many worry about the well-being of their employees. But how many people really need that bag of tamatar in 10 minutes?
Researched by: Sara Varghese
First, the big global picture
Ten-minute delivery startups have mushroomed around the world in a matter of months. Each aiming to disrupt the $2 trillion-a-year global grocery market. In just India, grocery retail is valued at $600 billion.
- The global star of the super-speedy delivery business is Getir—which first pioneered the model six years ago in Turkey. It opened in six European countries last year—and plans to expand across the US in 2022. In just six months, Getir raised nearly $1 billion to fuel this worldwide expansion.
- And their valuations are eye-watering. Getir is valued at $7.7 billion—but that’s modest compared to Philadelphia-based Gopuff ($15 billion) and Instacart ($39 billion).
- And investors love them. China’s Xingsheng Youxuan raised $3 billion earlier this year—marking the biggest ever funding round for a grocery startup.
- The most crowded and competitive market is London—with at least eight startups offering superfast delivery times.
Point to note: This doesn’t include all the industry big boys—who are adding 10-15 minute delivery verticals to their existing services. Example: Uber Eats in the US or Swiggy closer to home.
Quote to note: As The Morning Context (paywall) wryly observes:
“In the past few months, the race to deliver groceries to your doorstep has been moving from an hour to 45, 30, 15 minutes, or even less. At this point, same-day or even two-hour delivery is for losers.”
Meanwhile, in India…
According to Reliance, the instant delivery market is a $50-billion opportunity. So it’s hardly surprising that so many are scrambling to dominate the space.
Swiggy’s Instamart: is the tortoise of the bunch, offering to deliver your groceries in 15-30 minutes. The company recently raised $700 million—making it a decacorn, valued more than $10 billion—to make “meaningful investments” in its Instamart service, which is now available in 19 cities.
Not far behind: Dunzo which unveiled a 19-minute “ultra fast” grocery service last year—which in turn attracted big Reliance moolah this month. The $240 million cash infusion—for a 25.8% stake—marks the entry of Indian retail’s big daddy into “quick commerce.” Expect Dunzo to also team up with all the kirana stores on JioMart to offer them speedy delivery.
The new kids on the block: Zepto—founded by two 19-year olds and backed by global funds like Glade Brook Capital. This is India’s first 10-minute delivery startup. The company is valued at $570 million—and plans to become a $20 billion company. While they’ve raised $60 million, their operation is still small. Zepto delivers 8,000-10,000 orders—compared to Instamart’s 150,000-160,000.
Older kid with a new name: Blinkit—formerly known as Grofers—which rebranded itself in December to signal its big pivot to superfast delivery. Announcing the change, founder Albinder Dhindsa said: “Today, we are surging ahead as a new company, and we have a new mission statement—‘instant commerce indistinguishable from magic.’” The service is available in 40 cities as of now—and plans to expand to 100 cities by March. Grofers had recently attained unicorn status—crossing $1 billion in valuation—after raising over $120 million from Zomato and existing investor Tiger Global Management. So you can see it as Zomato’s bet against Swiggy. Blinkit plans to become a $100-billion business.
The 10-minute model explained
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