THE STORY OF ONLINE GROCERY DELIEVERY SERVICE GROFERS

A CASE STUDY

ABOUT GROFERS
Grofers is an online grocery store that delivers fresh food items to your door in less than 90 minutes. It works
seamlessly by allowing its users to shop for various products from their local stores. The name Grofers is a blend of
‘Grocery Gophers’.

It will help you to shop from your nearby favorite store around your vicinity and deliver it to your doorstep within 90
minutes. You can do your regular shopping like fruits and vegetables, meat, grocery items, bakery items, pet care,
baby care, cosmetics, and flowers. You can also choose your timings of delivery at any given time of the day.

The company was founded in 2013, developed by Albinder Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar. The company currently
serves 33 cities across India.

Grofers helps people save a lot of time and money by delivering the essential items to their door in
minutes. It made the lives of many easier as it eliminated the need to go to the market.

THE STORY OF GROFERS

Founders
Albinder Dhindsa earned his Bachelor of Technology from IIT-D and his Master of Business Administration
from Columbia University – Columbia Business School. After finishing his schooling, Albinder returned to
India and joined Zomato.com as Head of International Operations, where he worked for three years and
learned how to manage a business. While working on Zomato, he developed the concept of Grofers.
Saurabh completed his master's degree at the University of Texas after graduating from IIT-Bombay. He
worked with Albinder Dhindsa at Cambridge Systematics, as well as Opera Solutions as a Senior Analyst
and Rasilant Technologies in Mumbai as a COO.
Saurabh and Albinder met at Cambridge Systematics where they worked, and got into touch with each
other during the 2010s. They formulated their plan to enter the field of grocery delivery by launching
Grofers. Their main target was to resolve the various problems faced by the industry.
There was an app called Onenumber created in 2013. The service intended to give a client with a pick-up
and drop-off service from places including pharmacies, grocery stores, and restaurants. However, they
soon recognised that 90% of their orders were for grocery and pharmaceutical items and rebranded
themselves as Grofers.
Place of establishment and operations
The first trial of Grofers took place in Delhi NCR and eventually after it had achieved success, it got
launched in the other cities as well.
Organisation Structure

The company has 2 directors and no reported key management personnel.

The longest serving directors currently on board are Saurabh Kumar and Albinder Singh Dhindsa who were
appointed on 26 May, 2015. They have been on the board for more than 6 years.

Saurabh Kumar has the largest number of other directorships with a seat at a total of 2 companies. In total,
the company is connected to 1 other companies through its directors.
The Service offered by Grofers
Grofers used to focus their efforts on delivering fresh fruits and vegetables, groceries, bakery items, pet,
baby, and personal care products, kitchenware, home, and office requirements, mobiles and accessories,
flowers, books, and gadgets, among other things. Now, the company provides all of its clients' essential
everyday needs, with an emphasis on both the customer and merchant end.
Though it appeared to be difficult for the company to establish a relationship between consumers and
sellers, they eventually gained customers' trust by providing high-quality products and on-time delivery,
resulting in a shift in their buying habits.
Grofers also aided retailers who were unable to sell their products due to the establishment of a large
number of stores in a specific area or a lack of proper business orientation.
For example, Grofers partnered with Raju Stores, a neighbourhood grocery shop, and the company became
a pillar after the store suffered severe losses due to the coronavirus outbreak. As a result, the company
assisted the store by delivering the products that consumers ordered from the shop, and his store also
gained access to an e-commerce platform, which aided his store's success. The owner no longer needs to be
concerned about delivery services because the company handles them. Small-scale firms are brought
forward in this manner and provided a platform to grow.
Funding
In 2014, Grofers got their first initial financing of $500,000. Following that, in 2015, Grofer raised $10
million in Series A investment from Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital, followed by another
$25 million in the same year, and finally, in December 2015, Grofer raised its largest funding of 120 million
dollars from the following investors:
  Cyriac Roeding
  Roeding Ventures
  Tiger Global Management
  SoftBank
  Sequoia Capital

Business Model
Grofers is an on-demand hyperlocal logistics system. Grofer's main service is to bring groceries, fruits,
vegetables, and other common home products to you within a few hours. Grofers does not own or operate
any food stores or warehouses.
The firm collaborates with local grocery stores, and the delivery guys select products from those stores to
complete the customer's order. You may place your order using the Grofer mobile app on your Android or
iPhone, or you can browse to Grofer's website on your computer.
How it works
A hyperlocal delivery service, Grofers began by creating relationships with local companies that required
an internet platform to operate and reach consumers. As of that point in time, it was merely a logistics
company. After some time, things began to improve, and they had brought in a range of items, as well as
trying to assist others and create excellent communication, and today Grofers is what it is.
Consumers may purchase from their local favourite store and have it delivered to their home at their
convenience using Grofers, which provides a platform for offline retailers to go online. It is now possible to
aid those who work from home or are too busy to go to the market with a few clicks. A large number of
people have begun to support and appreciate their services, and they have gotten a number of favourable
evaluations for their work. Grofers receives about 2000 orders in a single day.
Acquisitions and Subsidiaries
Hands-On Trades Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary unit of Grofers, was founded in September of 2015 and engages in
B2B wholesale commerce with third-party merchants, contract manufacturing of food, grocery, and other
commodities for wholesale distribution, and providing warehousing services, including food and grocery
inventory, for third-party merchants.
Grofers bought MyGreenBox, a Gurgaon-based startup, on April 10, 2015, and TownRush, a Bangalore-
based B2B logistics delivery firm, in October of the same year to boost their efficiency.
Competetion
Since its inception, the online grocery business in India has developed tremendously. Everybody has to
keep up their game to maintain present consumers and attract new ones. Among Grofers' major rivals is
BigBasket, a well-known online grocery retailer backed by Tata sons. Grofers now operates in 33 cities,
more than BigBasket, which began in 2011 - two years before Grofers was founded - Grofers is also a
darling with investors, having garnered a unicorn status in the last 7 years.
Other major competitors include Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy backed Instamart, and JioMart. Zomato had
bought more than 9% stake in Grofers previously, essentially making itself an ally and poses no threat to
Grofers.
SUSTAINIBILITY
Effects of the pandemic
According to several research, internet grocery buying has increased in recent months. While studies show
that the online grocery business has grown by 76 percent year over year, another study by LocalCircles
indicated that 80 percent of individuals shop groceries online for convenience rather than price. Sales on
online grocery sites like Grofers and BigBasket soared as a result of the outbreak and shutdown.
Online grocery delivery business Grofers remained open during the Coronavirus epidemic. Because
individuals could not leave their houses and access the marketplaces, the firm prospered.
Future Plans
Grofers is reportedly interested in going public in 2021 or 2022, according to the reports. Dhindsa, one of
the company's founders, also said, “Our path to profitability has accelerated during the lockdown, and
after achieving operational profitability in January, we are on track EBITDA and cash positive by the end of
this year. We are observing market sentiments and aim to hit the capital market by the end of 2021.”

References
https://www.whizsky.com/2017/09/grofers-case-study-funding-business-model-competitors/

https://techstory.in/cci-approves-zomato-buying-9-3-stake-in-grofers/

https://thedigitalyug.com/startup/grofers-success-story-cities-idea-investment-covid

https://www.tofler.in/grofers-india-private-limited/company/U74140HR2015FTC055568

https://jungleworks.com/startup-story-13-saurabh-kumar-and-albinder-dhindsa-on-how-grofers-is-delivering-groceries-and-convenience/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grofers

https://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/grofers

https://qz.com/india/2002480/the-pandemic-has-made-bigbasket-grofers-and-jiomart-a-habit/

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/online-grocery-shopping-is-clicking-with-consumers-amid-pandemic/articleshow/78680170.cms

By drone delivery. Also, by partnering with apps like slurp/restaurants to provide ingredients necessary for
any one dish. Subscription based services.