Dropezy co-founders Nitesh Chellaram (left) and Chandni Chainani
Indonesia-based e-grocery platform Dropezy today announced that it has raised a US$2.5 million Pre-Series A funding round led by Forge Ventures.
The funding round also included the participation of Tekton Ventures, Next Billion Ventures, Nordstar as well as a group of angel investors including the founders of Kopi Kenangan and Bukukas.
Dropezy plans to use the funding to support the expansion of its network of “dark stores” or micro-fulfilment hubs to enable 20-minute grocery deliveries in Greater Jakarta Area.
Founded by Chandni Chainani and Nitesh Chellaram in 2019, the company was started with the vision to be “the most convenient way” to shop for groceries.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has provided Dropezy with a unique opportunity as 80 per cent of Indonesians stated that they would prefer to shop online, according to research.
But the issue that the company found is that existing grocery delivery services are optimised around existing offline supply chains or cost minimization; this ends up sacrificing user experience. So it builds a platform that enables greater speed and convenience for customers by allowing small purchases with low delivery rates.
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Dropezy said that it started in a small space in the basement of an apartment in Central Jakarta but now has close to 100 employees. It is launching dark stores across the city to shorten the last-mile distance and ensure that customers get their orders within 20 minutes.
CEO Chandni Chainani credited this growth to the learnings and insights that the company gained from their customers.
“When we launched, Chandni and I packed and delivered every order ourselves to really understand what urban customers wanted out of a grocery delivery service and how we could deliver the very best experience. With 60 per cent of first-time customers still purchasing from us after six months, our customers already love the consistency and freshness of our product selection and our fair prices. This is only possible because we control both our inventory and logistics with a committed fleet of riders who allocate at least six hours a day for small package deliveries,” said Nitesh Chellaram, Co-founder and COO of Dropezy.
“But our customers kept on asking for us to deliver faster and now, we will. If you make some coffee and realize you are out of milk, Dropezy will get it to you before your coffee is cold. We are excited to be partnering with investors who share our vision and customer obsession,” he continued.
Prior to starting Dropezy, the co-founders have had experience working in leading tech companies such as Zomato, MatahariMall, and Zilingo as well as the grocery and FMCG sectors.
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Image Credit: Dropezy
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