Grofers stops sales of vegetables, will focus on the FMCG biz

NEW DELHI: The Grofers online grocery store said that she had stopped selling fresh fruits and vegetables in some cities, while in others she would only sell one limited badortment of potatoes, onions and tomatoes. The company will focus instead on its FMCG business, with grocery products. "Fresh fruits and vegetables accounted for only 2% of our overall business," co-founder and CEO Grofers Albinder Dhindsa told TOI. "Our promised time is overnight delivery, so people have not even ordered it."

The Gurugram-based grocery store startup is targeting global revenues of Rs 2,500 crore by 2018-2019 and will deploy more than 500 SKUs (inventory management units) under its private brands. The company has stated that its private label range is sold at a price that is 5 to 50% lower than the market price of popular brands in similar categories.

As global distributor Walmart enters the fray planning to pay $ 16 billion to Flipkart in Bangalore, the Indian online food market is expected to grow exponentially and even exceed categories such as consumer electronics and fashion. The Indian online food market is currently estimated at around $ 900 million and is expected to grow by 70% annually to reach $ 7 billion by 2022, according to industry estimates. .

"Our foray into the consumer products segment sets us apart and uniquely positions us in the grocery industry," said Dhindsa. "This vertical expansion is the key to driving our next phase of growth in India."