Indonesian grocery delivery startup Dropezy raised a USD 2.5 million investment led by Forge Ventures, the company said on Thursday. Tekton Ventures, Next Billion Ventures, and Nordstar, as well as angel investors, including the founders of Kopi Kenangan and BukuKas, also participated in the financing round.
With the fresh capital, Dropezy will open its first micro fulfillment hub—also known as a dark store—in October. The firm plans to launch more than a dozen hubs in Jakarta in the next few months.
Founded in 2019 by former Zilingo executive Chandni Chainani and technopreneur Nitesh Chellaram, Dropezy offers a convenient delivery service in Greater Jakarta for groceries and daily necessities with no minimum order requirement. The startup sources its FMCG products from a number of brands and wholesalers, and it sources fresh produce from local farming communities and distributors.
The startup currently has one warehouse and offers next-day delivery, but Dropezy’s upcoming dark store network will enable much faster deliveries. “The whole idea is to open a network of micro fulfillment hubs located near our customers. All the products will be stored in our dark stores,” co-founder and COO Nitesh Chellaram told KrASIA.
“Our team has mapped the locations of our existing and potential customers. This way, we’ll be able to make sure that orders are delivered in under 20 minutes,” Chellaram added. Any customer who lives beyond Dropezy’s radius for 20-minute deliveries will have to opt for next-day shipments.
Dropezy has more than 5,000 active customers and 92 employees, including in-house delivery riders. Going forward, Dropezy will improve its tech capabilities and add more product choices before it expands to other cities in Indonesia.
“Around 60% of first-time customers still purchase from us after six months, as they love the consistency and freshness of our products, as well as our affordable prices. This is possible because we control our inventory and logistics with a committed fleet of riders who allocate at least six hours a day for small package deliveries,” said Chellaram.
Read this: Indonesian e-commerce firms choose groceries as their next competitive front
