First-world countries today don’t have the privilege of getting groceries or any item delivered in under 10 minutes of time. India today is flooded with apps and businesses that deliver everything from breakfast items to pet food to electronic items and almost everything of necessity in a jiffy. 

One of those businesses is called Zepto, which was founded by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, who were barely adults (18-19 years old) when they founded this company in 2021 and scaled it to become a direct competitor to Amazon in India. 

With an extensive range of over 25,000 products and a commitment to speed and efficiency, Zepto has rapidly emerged as a leader in India’s quick-commerce segment. This article delves deep into Zepto’s journey, its founders, business model, funding, growth, challenges, and future plans.

About Zepto

Zepto is a Mumbai-based startup that delivers groceries in under 10 minutes. Founded by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra in 2021, Zepto leverages a network of ‘dark stores’ or micro-warehouses to fulfill orders quickly. The company has rapidly expanded, operating in multiple cities across India and employing a workforce of over 1,000 employees.

Zepto’s core strength lies in its ability to provide a vast array of products, including fresh produce, daily essentials, and health products, through a streamlined, technology-driven delivery system. With the quick-commerce industry experiencing exponential growth, Zepto stands at the forefront, leveraging innovation to meet the increasing demand for ultra-fast grocery deliveries.

From Stanford Dorms to India’s Quick-Commerce Giant

In the early months of 2020, as the world grappled with the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, two young minds, Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, found themselves at a crossroads. 

Both had secured admission to the prestigious Stanford University to study Computer Science, yet their passion for building something of their own kept pulling them back to their roots in India.

Aadit and Kaivalya had been childhood friends, having grown up together in Mumbai. Even before they set foot in college, their shared love for technology and problem-solving had led them to work on multiple projects. 

From building small software applications to brainstorming innovative business ideas, they were always on the lookout for gaps in the market. The pandemic provided just that: an opportunity waiting to be seized.

Pandemic: An Opportunity Amidst Challenges

As lockdowns were enforced across India, online grocery delivery services struggled to keep up with the sudden surge in demand. Aadit and Kaivalya personally experienced this problem when their families faced long delays in receiving essential groceries. 

Frustrated by the inefficiencies in the existing system, they saw a glaring need for a faster, more reliable delivery service. And so, from their dorm rooms at Stanford, the duo began working on a solution.

Most 19-year-olds would have waited. Maybe have doubted themselves? Or would have taken the safe route. But not Aadit and Kaivalya.

They made a bold decision and dropped out of Stanford. While others saw uncertainty, they saw an opportunity. 

KiranaKart: The First Venture

Their first attempt was KiranaKart, a 45-minute grocery delivery service aimed at solving this problem. They pitched the idea to Y Combinator, the renowned startup accelerator, and were accepted into its prestigious program. 

With seed funding and mentorship from industry veterans, they set up operations in India. However, as they delved deeper into the grocery delivery space, they realized that speed was the ultimate differentiator. People weren’t just looking for convenience—they wanted their groceries now.

This realization led to the birth of Zepto, a company that promised deliveries in just 10 minutes. The name itself, inspired by the smallest unit of time in physics (zeptosecond), symbolized their commitment to speed. 

In just a few months, word spread like wildfire. People couldn’t believe it - groceries at their doorstep, faster than making a cup of tea.

The secret? Dark stores: small, high-speed warehouses strategically placed in key locations. From order processing to packaging to delivery, every second was optimized. 

Battling Giants and Breaking Barriers

As Zepto expanded, giants woke up. Blinkit (backed by the already-established Zomato), Swiggy Instamart, and BigBasket weren’t about to let two college dropouts take over the industry.

This was clearly a war for speed, efficiency, and customer loyalty. But Aadit and Kaivalya thought outside the box and used their technological acumen to their advantage. They built AI-driven systems that made deliveries even faster, hired the best minds, expanded operations, and refined their business model.

By 2023, Zepto had raised over $200 million in funding, attaining unicorn status with a valuation of $1.4 billion. The company rapidly expanded, setting up hundreds of dark stores across India’s biggest cities. By 2024, Zepto had scaled to over 650 stores, with more than 50-60% of them turning profitable, which was a rare feat in the quick-commerce industry.

By 2025, Zepto had:

✅ 650+ dark stores

✅ A target of 1,200 stores by March

✅ $5.5 billion in projected gross sales

✅ A booming new venture: Zepto Café

With an IPO planned for 2025, expansion into new markets, and thousands of employees behind them, Aadit and Kaivalya had built something extraordinary.

Why Zepto Works in India

How is a risky and unconventional business model like this possible in India? The answer is simple. A major population in India is young, and 65% of the population is under the age of 35. So naturally, in the current economic environment, there aren’t enough jobs for this huge population and unemployment is a major concern here. 

Such companies like Zepto and Blinkit (a competitor of Zepto) can afford delivery agents and other employees and still manage to create decent or dependable margins. Other reasons for its growth are high population density, rapid urbanization, and an increasing demand for convenience.

Major metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore are densely populated, making it feasible to set up micro-warehouses or dark stores, within close proximity to customers. This ensures that deliveries can be fulfilled within the promised 10-minute window. 

Additionally, India’s digital economy has grown exponentially, with millions of consumers embracing online grocery shopping through mobile apps. The fast-paced urban lifestyle, coupled with rising disposable incomes, has led to a shift in consumer behavior, where instant delivery services are now seen as a necessity rather than a luxury.

Zepto’s Potential in First-World Countries

However, replicating this model in first-world countries presents challenges. In regions like the United States and Europe, labor costs are significantly higher, making the 10-minute delivery model less financially sustainable unless companies rely heavily on automation and robotics. 

Additionally, urban layouts in many developed nations, particularly in North America, are more spread out compared to Indian cities, making rapid deliveries logistically challenging. 

While certain dense urban hubs like New York or London may support a quick-commerce model, the overall scalability in first-world countries remains uncertain. Furthermore, consumer preferences in developed markets differ, with a higher focus on weekly or bulk grocery shopping rather than frequent, instant orders.

Despite these challenges, quick-commerce has seen success in select areas of first-world countries, with companies like Gopuff and Getir experimenting with similar models. If Zepto were to expand globally, it would likely need to adapt its business strategy by incorporating automation, optimizing delivery zones, and targeting specific urban centers where the demand for ultra-fast deliveries justifies the operational costs.

Final Thoughts

Many investors in the Indian stock market today are looking forward to Zepto’s IPO, and Zepto has scaled big enough in just three years to go public and raise money directly from the people. 

In metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai, ‘Zepto’ has become a verb for ordering something in less than 10 minutes. That’s the value of the brand that the founders Aadit and Kaivalya have built. Of course, we did not discuss their marketing strategies in the article as that would need a separate 1000-word post, but no company would become this popular without a smart social media strategy that connects with the masses.

Many big players, experts, trade analysts, and renowned entrepreneurs showed disbelief in the quick commerce marketplace just a couple of years ago and dismissed the business model as ‘unsustainable,’ but the founders showed strong conviction and vision and brought this idea to life and gifted Indian citizens with a smart solution to their convenience needs. 

Hope this story inspires the entrepreneur in you. Thank you for reading.