Grofers' Albinder Dhindsa justifies 10-minute deliveries, says need more people who dare and less of those to pull them down

Albinder Dhindsa, the founder of online grocery delivery platform Grofers, which counts Zomato as a strategic investor, has hit out at critics who raised questions about its promise to deliver in 10 minutes, asserting that neither has it put its riders at risk nor are they incentivised to deliver orders fast.

His comments came after many on social media questioned the race for quick commerce among players such as Grofers, Instamart and Dunzo, asking if people really needed groceries delivered in 10-15 minutes, when this could pose a risk for the safety of delivery partners.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Dhindsa said he wanted to 'chime in about the hate we are getting for delivering groceries in 10 minutes.'

He said Grofers' partner stores are located within 2 kilometres of its customers and that it has 60+ stores in Delhi and 30+ stores in Gurugram already. He further said that its stores are so densely located that it can deliver 90 percent of the orders within 15 minutes even if its riders drive under 10 km per hour.

"Our in store planning and tech is now so good that we pack most orders under 2.5 minutes. Our riders are not (dis) incentivised to deliver orders fast. We've had zero reported rider accidents in the last two months since we launched 10 minute grocery delivery," he said.

"Also it breaks my heart that instead of celebrating innovations coming from India, some of us stay cynical. We need more people who dare and less of those who pull them down," he signed off.

Grofers is offering customers 7,000 items of daily essentials in Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ghaziabad, Noida, and Lucknow.

Read: Quick deliveries won't happen at the cost of safety: Grofer's Albinder Dhindsa

It just raised a $100 million round from online food delivery firm Zomato and also became a unicorn with a valuation exceeding a little more than a billion dollars.

Last month, Grofers claimed it made 7,000, 15-minute deliveries in a single day.

The Covid-19 pandemic has turbo-charged the adoption of online grocery by consumers who want superfast delivery – the faster the better. Besides, over the past couple of years, the companies have matured and have set up better supply chains and smarter hub locations. They are heavily focusing on deep tech to understand consumer preferences better.

AlsoRead: Express grocery delivery: How far will it go this time?