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Bigbasket Wants You To Subscribe To Its Services, Buy From Its Vending Machines

The e-grocer is entering subscription-based delivery model and physical store model—for which it’s setting up vending machines.

Founding members of Bigbasket. From left: VS Ramesh, Hari Menon, Vipul Parekh, Abhinay Choudhari and VS Sudhakar. (Photographer: Samyukta Lakshmi/Bloomberg)
Founding members of Bigbasket. From left: VS Ramesh, Hari Menon, Vipul Parekh, Abhinay Choudhari and VS Sudhakar. (Photographer: Samyukta Lakshmi/Bloomberg)

Nearly seven months after it raised $300 million from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., online grocer Bigbasket said it has acquired three startups, which will help it offer subscription-based services and let customers buy staples via vending machines.

Bigbasket has acquired two startups—Bengaluru-based micro-delivery startup Morning Cart and Pune-based RainCan, a milk subscription platform—it said in a statement today. It has also bought a controlling stake in cloud-connected smart vending machine platform, Kwik 24, according to the statement.

The acquisitions are part of Bigbasket’s strategy of foraying into subscription-based delivery model and physical store model—for which it’s setting up vending machines. The e-grocer said it will offer subscription-based services across its non-milk range, including fresh fruits & vegetables, staples, bread & eggs, pooja essentials, among others. Bigbasket said it has already initiated a soft launch of its subscription service, bbdaily, in Bengaluru & Pune. With the service clocking 20,000 daily subscriptions, it’s looking to launch in eight other metro cities.

“The micro delivery startup acquisition really helps Bigbasket in accelerating our need to bring fresh subscription services to our customers, daily,” Hari Menon, chief executive officer and co-founder of Bigbasket, was quoted as saying in the statement. “The Kwik24 acquisition gives us the ability to be closer to the customer by way of the bb instant smart vending kiosks”

With Kwik24, Bigbasket—which was founded in December 2011 by Menon and four other entrepreneurs and is currently valued at $950 million—said it has installed 100 smart unmanned vending machines across Bengaluru and plans to expand to other cities.

The machines are part of the bb Instant service, through which customers can order fresh produce and other FMCG products via the bb Instant app, and then pick it up from the vending machine.

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