Blink Commerce Private Limited, doing business as Blinkit (formerly Grofers), is an Indian quick-commerce company owned by Eternal Limited.[5][6][7] It was founded in December 2013 and is based in Gurgaon.[8][9]
Customers of the company use a mobile app to order groceries and essentials online, which are sourced from the company's dark stores and delivered in 10 minutes.[10] Blinkit operates in 153 cities in India, as of March 2025.[11]
In 2022, Zomato Limited (now Eternal) acquired Blinkit for US$568 million in an all-stock deal.[12][13]
History
The company, originally named Grofers, was founded in December 2013 by Albinder Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar,[14] who had first met each other while working for Cambridge Systematics during the late 2000s.[15] The startup piloted in Delhi NCR before expanding to other cities in India.
After seven years of operations as an online grocery delivery service,[16] Grofers introduced express grocery delivery in India in 2021, by building a dark store network. In June 2021, Zomato Limited (now Eternal) acquired a 9.3% stake in Grofers for $100 million.[17] In July 2021, Grofers was reportedly delivering groceries in 15 minutes in Gurgaon.[18] A month later, in August 2021, it introduced 10-minute delivery in 12 large cities.
Services
Blinkit primarily delivers groceries, fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, stationery, bakery items, personal care, baby and pet care products, snacks, and flowers, among others.[33]
Criticism
In August 2021, the company's 10-minute delivery service faced criticism with concerns raised over the safety of delivery partners. CEO Albinder Dhindsa, in a tweet, defended the mechanism behind express delivery and claimed that there had been zero accidents.[34][35]
In June 2022, a Bengaluru-based web development company called Blinkhit filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Blinkit.[36]
In April 2023, hundreds of Blinkit delivery partners in Delhi NCR, where about half of the company's dark stores were located, went on strike after a revision in payout structure resulted in lower earnings for them. This led to a temporary closure of many dark stores.[37]
In June 2024, the FSSAI conducted a raid on a Blinkit warehouse in Telangana, uncovering multiple food safety violations, including unhygienic storage and handling,
Funding rounds
Source:[40]
See also
External links
References
- Tarush Bhalla. Kumar steps back at Grofers mint, 18 June 2021, retrieved 4 July 2022^
- Grofers shifts base to Singapore The Times of India, retrieved 17 April 2021^
- Shareholders' Letter and Results - Q4FY25