is planning to launch 10-minute deliveries and gain access to the quick commerce sector, which is currently dominated by companies such as , and Instant.
According to a report in Economic Times, Ola will be partnering with Mukunda Foods to provide these quick deliveries under their quick grocery brand Ola Dash. The service is live in certain parts of Bangalore as a preliminary test. Items available at the moment include khichidi, pizza and rolls.
Mukunda Foods is a food robotics firm that makes machines that can apparently reduce the cooking time for Indian and Chinese dishes by between 20 to 50 percent. In February, it was announced that Zomato had purchased 16.66 percent of the company for an investment of $5 million.
However, this deal does not include any exclusivity clauses. While Mukunda Foods has already reportedly sold multiple machines to Zomato Instant, Zomato's newly announced quick commerce arm, they will also be working with Ola Dash and Swiggy who have also shown interest in returning to the quick commerce sector.
Zomato's investment in Mukunda Foods was announced around the same time as its $150 million loan to BlinkIt that will lead to a merger between the two firms.
BlinkIt, formerly known as , became a unicorn in late 2021 via an initial Zomato investment, but the loan in February 2022 precluded a term sheet that valued that company between $700-$800 million.
Multiple startups, including Ola and Swiggy, had initially attempted to enter the quick commerce sector during the first boom in 2015-2016.