Zomato launches grocery delivery in select locations

Online food delivery platform and restaurant aggregator Zomato has launched grocery delivery services across Delhi, Gurugram, parts of Kerala and Punjab. 

The platform was in discussions to launch grocery delivery as an essential service post the Covid-19 related lockdown.

Zomato has been reportedly talking to online players in the space including Grofers and BigBasket for partnerships.

At present, Zomato’s app shows select stores delivering in Delhi and Gurugram. 

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Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor on Twitter said that Zomato, in partnership with Kerala government’s chain of grocery stores SupplyCo, launched online grocery delivery in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Thrissur on April 1.

Food news: @ZomatoIN starts a platform for online grocery delivery in Kerala in association w/ SupplyCo. Operations in Kochi, Trivandrum, Kottayam & Thrissur aiming to "reach out to people under #lockdown &deliver essential commodities quickly in a safe&secure manner". Good luck!

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 1, 2020

According to media reports, the grocery delivery service on Zomato is live in parts of Punjab. 

Zomato did not respond to specific queries on the launch and business model at the time of publishing the article.

The current move by the Alibaba and Ant Financial backed food delivery platform is in line with rival Swiggy’s launch of Swiggy Stores in select locations in 2019 for early morning delivery of milk, grocery and fresh produce. The launch is expected to help  Zomato leverage its network of delivery personnel for grocery deliveries as the 21-day lockdown has impacted restaurant and food delivery business.

During the lockdown period, business to business suppliers of grocery and fresh produce including Jumbotail and Ninjacart have begun delivering directly to residential areas, even as grocery deliver companies including BigBasket, Grofers and Milkbasket struggle to fulfil orders due to shortage of supply and movement curbs during the lockdown.