Zepto, India’s quick commerce platform, has secured $665 million in a recent funding round, boosting its valuation to $3.6 billion. CEO Aadit Palicha envisions Zepto as the hyperlocal Walmart of India, focusing primarily on groceries and household essentials.
“We see ourselves as a hyperlocal Walmart for India, filling a significant market gap and achieving both scale and profitability,” Palicha said.
Zepto plans to expand its dark stores to 700, positioning itself to compete with rivals like Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart. The company aims to leverage the massive market opportunity in India’s top 40 cities, which are expected to account for nearly half of the grocery and household essentials market by FY29.
Palicha emphasized Zepto’s unique market position, stating, “We are the first commerce platform to combine the proximity advantage with the structural benefits of a large-scale retailer, such as price leverage, selection, and quality control.”
Despite adding categories like consumer electronics, fashion, home furnishings, and beauty products, Palicha believes the biggest opportunity remains in groceries and household essentials. The Indian grocery market, valued at $650 billion in FY23, is projected to grow to $850 billion by FY29.
“If you want to build a business larger than Amazon or Flipkart, you focus on groceries. This category surpasses all others combined,” Palicha asserted.
Previously, Zepto held acquisition talks with Walmart-owned Flipkart, though these discussions did not materialize.
Zepto’s current focus remains on the top 40 cities in India. “These cities alone will constitute $400 billion of the $850 billion market. The top 50–70 million households represent $200 billion,” Palicha noted.
Zepto plans to increase its presence from over Rs 10,000 crore in topline today to Rs 2.5 lakh crore over the next five years in these key cities. The company is gearing up to battle competitors such as Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and BigBasket’s BB Now by scaling up its operations.