How this Mumbai startup is carving a niche for itself in the crowded ecommerce delivery space

With the third wave of the pandemic upon us, life has moved online again. While there are a number of ecommerce delivery startups trying to make life easier for customers, Mumbai-based edobo is carving a niche for itself in the space.

edobo is an ecommerce grocery and household supplies app that is working to meet the needs of customers from the comfort of their homes.

Launched in 2019 by Ravi Narayan Jadhwani, the startup offers over 3,500 products to residents in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and parts of Thane across 120 pin-codes through its app and website.

“We deliver UV sanitised, hand-picked, and pocket-friendly goods to customers with our simple web and app interface. We strictly adhere to our motto ‘Sanitized-Sealed-Delivered’ to ensure that our customers have a wonderful e-shopping experience. Through edobo, one can avoid the drudgery of long queues and getting stuck in traffic jams and huddling for groceries from the nearest store,” says Ravi in a chat with YourStory.

The idea

Ravi’s family has been running a successful infrastructure business for over forty years. However, he personally felt drawn to the technology space. Labelling the power of the internet and the accessibility provided by smartphones as a boon for businesses everywhere, Ravi was keen to take advantage of the opportunities provided by modern technology.

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He began his journey by setting up an outbound call center named 'Xzines Diligent’, which unfortunately shut operations after the 2008 recession. He then joined his family business but kept an eye out for developments in technology.

“In the last decade, the use of smartphones has skyrocketed, and people are relying increasingly on mobile friendly apps to meet their needs. It is the perfect medium for revolutionary service delivery. This inspired me to get into ecommerce by establishing edobo,” shares the founder.

Ravi claims there was no single app that fulfilled the needs of consumers while focusing on safety and timely delivery, which made him establish edobo.

He shares, “We provide a one-stop solution to all the daily needs of customers by offering an integrated portfolio of groceries, home essentials, pet care products, hygiene supplies, as well as general medicines in a single mobile app.”

“edobo is thoughtfully designed to adapt to new challenges, be it lockdowns or remote work. Customers can now grocery shop from home as easily as they work from home. Unlike other ecommerce providers, edobo ensures that our products remain 99.9 percent bacteria-free. This extends the shelf life of the products and promises safety for our customers,” Ravi says.

How it works?

There are multiple delivery slots in a day and each slot lasts for three hours, allowing customers to choose the slot, which is most convenient for them. Customers can also opt for a 30 minute express doorstep delivery. 

To maximise efficiency and ensure customer satisfaction, the startup claims to offer over 3,500 products priced lower than its counterparts sold in supermarkets and local grocery stores. It plans to include over 17,000 products in various categories soon.

Ravi shares that edobo is committed to empowering small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the neighbourhood.

The startup also supports B2B enterprises like restaurants and street food vendors like vada pav stalls, tea stalls, and other small eateries by providing daily groceries at their stalls, saving them the time it takes for procurement of ingredients and raw material.

edobo says it delivers to these MSMEs early in the morning in the exact required quantities, which also allows them to save money by preventing wastage of resources and capital.

“We also give them backend remote support by providing credit, which they can pay back by accepting QR payments directly from the customers and crediting straight to their partner wallet to re-procure daily needs,” Ravi says.

Edobo provides around 14 categories of products to customers, including fresh fruits and vegetables, grocery staples and oils, organic items, eggs, meat and fish, snacks and packaged foods, beverages, desserts and ice cream, cleaning and household goods, personal care items, health and wellness products and pet food as well. 

According to the founders, its delivery executives wear uniforms and are trained at regular intervals for enhanced customer experience. An in-house customer support team handles customer communication and delivery queries.

Ravi stresses on the fact that one can enjoy the lowest prices and frequent discounted offers on every product. He shares, “We provide fast and secure payment solutions through UPI, net banking, credit and debit cards, and cash on delivery. edobo’s heart is in the most secured cloud servers on earth. We use AWS infrastructure for scalability.”

The market and growth story

According to a Statista report on the market size of the ecommerce industry across India, the average retail ecommerce revenue collected per user in India in 2018 was more than $50. It is estimated to cross $75 by the year 2024. Hence, going by the projection of this report and general consumer preferences, localised players like edobo are well-placed for growth.

Ravi launched the business with an initial investment of Rs 3 crore, the startup claims to have seen significant growth since then. Currently, edobo has over 20,000 active customers.

He says, “The pandemic changed the ecommerce industry tremendously. People have completely changed their buying behaviour from experiential buying to virtual buying. The Indian ecommerce industry has witnessed a drastic shift in the number of online buyers and this is continuously increasing.”

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Ravi shares they rely heavily on social and digital media to reach their customers. Word of mouth form satisfied customers and society activation measures in selected locations are other ways of organic advertisement about their services.

While edobo sees no direct competitors due to its smaller scale, it says, apart from same-day delivery because of smaller area to service and hand-picked products, its USP is the UV sanitisation of products to keep them 99.9 percent bacteria-free.

All the products undergo UV sanitisation at its warehouse to maintain the hygiene levels. It is one of the mandatory steps of the delivery process, claims the founder.

When asked about challenges, he says, “Our biggest challenge till now has been to provide quality products in categories like fresh fruits, vegetables, and other groceries. Further, it has been our constant endeavour to keep our employees and staff members hygienic and healthy in the current situation, which has also been challenging.”

Looking to the future, edobo is ready with plans to expand to other cities and also for opening its own brick and mortar stores. It is also looking for investors to raise funds in the near future.