Seven months ago Bigbasket had raised $300 million from Alibaba Group Holding and has said to acquire 3 new startups through which Bigbasket aims to start subscription-based services and allow customers to buy daily need items via vending machines.
The Acquisitions
A Bengaluru based startup into micro delivery, a Pune based milk subscription company Rain Can and Kwik 24, a cloud-connected smart vending machine company, are the three firms where Bigbasket has invested.
The Strategy
The strategy behind acquiring these firms is to foray into the subscription-based delivery mechanism and also the physical store model via vending machines. These subscription-based services will include fresh fruits & vegetables along with staples, bread, eggs etc. the brand has already initiated a soft launch of its services through bb daily in Bengaluru and Pune. This service has already achieved 20,000 daily subscribers and is aiming at launching the service in 8 other metro cities.
Brand Speak
“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”
Bigbasket has already installed some 100 smart vending machines across Bengaluru. The vending machine will be controlled by the BB app, wherein the customer can place their order and collect it from the vending machine.
The Journey
Bigbasket started in 2011, is currently valued at $950 million and is expanding at a fast pace. Bigbasket has been growing steadily and is definitely a service that today’s busy generation looks up to. BB has always boasted of quality products and has lived up to the expectations of the people. Big baskets advertising campaigns have always garnered rave reviews and the brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan has done full justice to keep the buzz going.
