Indian quick commerce upstart Zepto is now rolling out a standalone app for Zepto Cafe, its 10-minute food delivery service. Aadit Palicha, CEO of Zepto, announced the same in a post on X. The standalone app will roll out sometime next week.
“We’re launching a separate app for Zepto Café next week! The team is shipping an MVP and iterating quickly, so it may not be perfect on Day 1, but it’s worth it to launch fast :D Café is scaling rapidly: we’re launching 100+ Cafés a month and already clocking 30K orders/day 🚀,” the post read.
We're launching a separate app for Zepto Café next week! The team is shipping an MVP and iterating quickly, so it may not be perfect on Day 1, but it's worth it to launch fast :D
Café is scaling rapidly: we're launching 100+ Cafés a month and already clocking 30K orders/day 🚀 pic.twitter.com/xgbLvj78oe
— Aadit Palicha (@aadit_palicha) December 11, 2024
Prior to this development, Zepto Cafe has been a part of the broader Zepto app. Much like the name suggests, it offers multiple and quick food options, ranging from coffee and juices to sandwiches and snacks, all delivered in 10 minutes. Since its inception, the service has experienced impressive growth, with Zepto expanding by over 100 new cafes per month. Currently, Zepto Cafe handles upwards of 30,000 orders daily.
In terms of operational scale, Zepto Cafe is currently functioning across about 15% of Zepto’s expansive dark store network, which includes over 600 locations. As the company continues to grow, it plans to expand Zepto Cafe’s coverage to its entire network, which will encompass more than 25 cities in the coming months. Zepto Cafe is currently available for users in several cities across the country, including Gurgaon, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.
The numbers are in Zepto Cafe’s favour – it has already achieved an annualized revenue run rate (ARR) of ₹160 crore, with projections to reach ₹1,000 crore by 2026. Going forward, the Bengaluru-headquartered firm plans to add new offerings to the menu in a bid to attract a wider range of customers, especially those seeking quick and diverse food options. The company has announced that starting December 16, it will offer 4 million free Vietnamese Cold Coffees as part of a promotional campaign to attract new customers.
This begs the question: why is Zepto rolling out a separate app for the service? As mentioned earlier, users could previously access Zepto Cafe through the main Zepto app, alongside other services like groceries and household products. With a dedicated app for the food delivery service, the quick commerce firm will be able to improve visibility and customer engagement for Zepto Cafe, as well as streamline the company’s offerings.
Palicha cites the “significant consumer top-of-mind advantage” that a standalone app provides as part of the rationale behind this development. “There is a significant consumer top-of-mind advantage to a separate app and we are seeing the economics work stand-alone. So, a stand-alone app makes sense. Users will still be able to order Café products on the main Zepto app,” he said.
