Online marketplaces report a loss of Rs 9,847 CR; Bring exotic food home with Fric Bergen's bite-sized sauce servings

Thursday November 08, 2018 , 3 min Read

The top four online marketplaces in India – Amazon India, Flipkart, Paytm Mall and Snapdeal – posted a net loss of Rs 9,847 crore on the back of a total operating revenue of Rs 8,898 crore in FY18. In fiscal 2017, the companies reported an operating revenue of Rs 5,920 crore and a loss of Rs 11,131 crore. If we take the four top online marketplaces as an indicator of the ecommerce business in India, the industry lost an average of Rs 1.88 to earn an operating revenue of Rs 1 in FY17.

Sauces and dips, considered a niche product in India, are typically sold only in high-end stores. But the founders of Gurugram-based Fric Bergen wanted sauces to be sold like a "pack of chips". While many players have introduced retail packs of premium sauces, they are expensive and are affordable only to a few. To address this gap, Fric Bergen launched a range of affordable premium sauces that can be found on the shelves of everyday mom-and-pop stores.

Team Fric Bergen — Founders of Fric Bergen - Vandana Singh, Vivek Singh and Rohit Agarwal.

Global online retail giant Amazon may split its planned second headquarters in the US across two locations, and the final decision on the cities where it will set up its campus is expected soon, media reports said. Splitting the second headquarters will allow Amazon to tap into a diverse talent pool. It will also help to ease the stress on infrastructure such as housing and transport in any one particular location.

Over 1 in 5 couples in the reproductive age face difficulties in conceiving naturally. After losing his aunt to break cancer, Vijaygopal Rengarajan set out on a journey to create a “technology-agnostic integrated healthcare ecosystem” to significantly impact clinical outcomes. With Balachander Agoramurthy, Geetha Sanjay, and Gopinath Varadharajan, he co-founded Innov4Sight with one aim: to reduce errors in cancer care.

From lights and locks to thermostats and speakers - technology has made smart homes a reality with just the click of a button. While comfort and convenience have become the key for smart homes with Amazon Alexa and Google Home now ruling the space, many homegrown companies are also venturing into home automation. Looking to provide energy saving solutions and ease of home automation without burning a hole in your pocket, Harmeet Singh and Archit Gupta started Cloudblocks in 2015 in Delhi.