Delivering convenience to customers
Delivering convenience to customers
A recent start-up, VeggyKart.com, an online venture providing home delivery of fresh fruits, vegetables and grocery was founded to replace the hassle of traditional shopping so that customers can get quality products, when they need it without having to go to the market themselves. VeggyKart provides reliable products that are handpicked, cleaned, hygienically handled and packed in bio degradable hygienic packages to customers in Gurgaon, Delhi NCR.   
 
'We believe that due to lifestyle changes, people are turning to online services for convenience,' opines Ravi Pahuja, Co-founder & Chief Executive 0fficer, VeggyKart.com in an interaction with Retailer media.
 
Tell us about VeggyKart and its business model?
VeggyKart is a hyper local online venture which offers home delivery of handpicked fresh fruits, vegetables, in both whole and cut form, dairy and other grocery items to consumers in hygienic bags backed with same day delivery services. At VeggyKart, we ensure to procure the fresh and the best quality products through our network of farmers and whole sellers. Our partners are reputed suppliers who believe in quality and integrity in all dealings. We have spent more than 10 months strengthening our sourcing channels, back-end infrastructure and delivery mechanism and have managed to lay an efficient delivery system.
 
What is the market size of this industry and how have you positioned your brand? 
The fruits and vegetables industry in India is currently valued at Rs. 4 lakh crore, Dairy Products at Rs. 3.6 lakh crore and Grocery another Rs.20 lakh crores. We strongly believe that there are 10-20% consumers in every geography, who would want the convenience of getting these products delivered at their doorsteps. According to retail consultancy Technopak, the online grocery retail market is growing at 35 to 40 per cent in the metros and other large cities in the country.
We believe that due to lifestyle changes, people are turning to online services for convenience, and we want to deliver that convenience complemented by hygiene and premiumness to the customers. Our aim is to deliver great products in realistic time frames instead of focusing on unrealistic delivery time. With perishables such as fresh produce, freshness and quality are paramount for the consumer and at VeggyKart, we provide fresh and handpicked products to the consumer segment that is extremely health and quality conscious and is looking at convenience of buying the same, sitting at home.
 
Tells us about the challenges that hamper the growth in the e-grocery segment, and how do you tackle it?
The procurement, handling, storage and supply of fresh fruits and vegetables is an entirely different ball game from storing and supplying cell phones for instance. However, an efficient supply chain, quality warehousing and storage facilities, and an efficient delivery system help towards dealing with these challenges. Our focus is on investing in inventory management and focusing on customer-retention; tying up with specialist companies at various steps of the value chain has also helped us reduce the burden.
 
There are many players in the e-grocery segment, so what are your price points in comparison to the industry?
VeggyKart provides consumers with quality products at market operating prices. 
 
Are you planning to raise funds?
Yes, we had recently raised seed fund from Angel Investors and now are planning to raise our Series A funds for NCR expansion, for which we are in talks with Interested VC funds and hope to close the same in June itself.
 
Online is all about discounts and offers, so how do you retain your customer?
We are looking to implement some loyalty programmes along with deals and discounts apart from the offers that we already provide to increase and retain our customer base.
 
As a startup, where do you see your brand in 5-7 years down the line?
We are taking a step at a time, but we are convinced about the immense scalability of the VeggyKart model and are looking to expand the format's reach to Delhi and Noida over the next two months. We will also be establishing presence in the top 20 cities, including tier II and III markets, in about a year's time.
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