US –  American retail company Kroger is teaming up with Instacart on a new delivery service that can get grocery items to customers in as little as 30 minutes.  

Called Kroger Delivery, the service will offer customers up to 25,000 items to choose from and is targeting to reach up to 50 million homes, the company said in a statement.  

Kroger which boasts of more than 2,700 stores, will offer the service for its namesake stores as well as Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Fry’s, Mariano’s, and Smith’s locations. 
 
Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen noted that the fast delivery will help the company in doubling its online sales that amounted to more than US$10 billion last year.  

Kroger and Instacart first partnered in 2017, with two-hour grocery delivery.  Two years ago they added alcohol delivery to their services and are now deepening that relationship even further with a 30-minute delivery nationwide.  

Zomato stops grocery delivery service 

As Kroger is leveling up its delivery service, Indian food delivery app  Zomato has decided to stop its grocery delivery service from September 17. 

Zomato had launched the pilot grocery delivery service in July this year in select markets offering grocery delivery within 45 minutes to its customers. 

The company however notes that the decision to pull thee plag on the pilot program was necessitated by gaps in order fulfillment leading to poor customer experience.

The company also said that it believes that its investment in Grofers will generate better outcomes for its shareholders than in-house grocery efforts. 
 
When contacted, a Zomato spokesperson said, “We have decided to shut down our grocery pilot and as of now, have no plans to run any other form of grocery delivery on our platform.” 

Zomato now puts its bets on Grofers where it has invested USD 100 million for a minority stake in grocery delivery platform 

“Grofers has found high quality product market fit in 10 minute grocery and we believe our investment in the company will generate better outcomes for our shareholders than our in-house grocery effort,” the Zomato spokesperson added.  

Earlier, Zomato announced that its cofounder Gaurav Gupta, a key executive in the run-up to the food delivery company’s landmark initial public offering (IPO), has resigned. 
 
Gupta, who joined Zomato as business head for table reservations in 2015, was elevated to cofounder in 2019 to focus on launching the company’s nutrition business.  

He donned various hats at the company during his six-year stint, serving as the chief operating officer for almost three of those.  

He was also a part of the team that launched Zomato Pro and looked at ways to improve the merchant experience on the platform. 
 
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