How this first-of-its kind on-demand market place is carving a niche in providing personalized services?

Home Jiny is the first online e-commerce platform which provides all frequently used products and services a household needs on one app. From Milk to Maid, Oil to OTG Repair, Daal to Driver, Celery to Chef, Potato to Painter, Home Jiny provides 1,000+ frequently used products in 16 categories and over 200 frequently used services in 19 categories that are not offered by any of the e-commerce platforms so far.  In an exclusive conversation with Kuldeep Pandit, Founder and CEO, along with other Co- founders more details  were shared.

How did Home Jiny start? Also shed light on your entrepreneurial journey?

We started the idea in October 2018 and incorporated the company in March 2019. It took us almost 6 months to build the technology platform which includes 2 front-end (android and iOS apps), Vendor app, Delivery app and finally a fully integrated ERP. We also built the entire inventory-based model for perishables and almost 70 top quality Service vendors. We started the journey in Faridabad in Omaxe Heights with almost 30% of the society downloading Home Jiny in just 2 months. 

I have over 20 years of diverse leadership experience in General Management, P&L Management, Business Planning, Business Strategy Development, Business Model Innovation and Brand Management. I have been on the leadership board for Coca Cola and Johnson and Johnson in India and Asia pacific level for over 20 years. At Home Jiny, I oversee the overall direction for the business, business development, technology, marketing and all the operational efforts.   

Tell us about your business model? Also, what is your USP?

Our business model involves making virtually everything that a household needs at the click of a button on a single app, thereby providing convenience and reliability to build long term trust with our customer base. We source the products from the best vendors through rigorous buying and quality processes. The services are delivered by authorized, certified and trained service partners across the spectrum.

The company made its debut in Delhi NCR with an aim to disrupt the on-demand home delivery market. Already available in Faridabad, Gurgaon and South Delhi, the brand seeks to cater to 80% of the Delhi-NCR region by Dec 2020. We help in improving consumers’ experience while saving their time and cost. We are expanding by building micro-clusters of product and service-based ecosystems. We   focus on targeting housing societies and building density and penetration.

Our USP is that instead of juggling with multiple vendors, shops, service providers and apps, the customer will have the ease and convenience to get everything on a single app. The products are sourced from the best vendors through rigorous buying and quality processes. The services are delivered by authorized, certified and trained service partners across the spectrum.

Presently, how many pin codes are covered by Home Jiny? Going forward what are the plans to scale-up this distribution??

Currently, we have our operations in Gurgaon, Faridabad and South Delhi and are catering to over 20,000 households at present. We plan to move from 20 to 1000 societies and over 8 cities in next 18-24 months. However the entire focus would be about carefully selecting societies and build the ecosystems around the same.  

Have you raised any kind of funds so far or plan to?

At a very early stage, we raised close to INR 25 million from 12 investors from diverse fields like packaging, warehouse design, Information Technology infrastructure and software development, Artificial Intelligence, Operational Excellence etc. We, the co-founders also put in our own money. The investors included Mr. Mukul Sareen from Rustx, Mr. Kunal Pandya from NCrypted, Mr. Vineel Nalla from 50K ventures, etc.

Yes, we are now looking to raise funding of close to Rs 100 Million. We will be using the funds to expand our operations, build talent pipeline and invest in technology.

 Who do you see as your competition?

The grocery market in India is worth USD 500 Billion and the services market is unorganized and estimated to be around USD 700 Billion. We are unique as we provide the largest width of portfolio which is unmatched in the world with 1000+ products and 200+ services on one platform.

Give us a brief about your operational categories and services?

From Milk to Maid, Oil to OTG Repair, Daal to Driver, Celery to Chef, Potato to Painter, Home Jiny provides 1,500+ frequently used products in 16 categories and over 200 frequently used services in 19 categories that are not offered by any of the e-commerce platforms so far.   We have almost 220 services including laundry, dry-cleaning, salon, tutors, drivers, maids and many more.

At last, kindly highlight your growth plans?

We plan to scale up from around 20,000 households at present to around 1,00,000 households by the next quarter. We are doubling our orders every month. At present we service around 17,000 - 18,000 orders per month from 20 societies. We plan to move from 20 to 1000 societies and over 8 cities in next 18-24 months. However the entire focus would be about carefully selecting societies and build the ecosystems around the same.