Grab raises $ 1 million from Oliphans Capital and Haresh Chawla

The funding will enable Grab to expand in new markets like Pune and others in the near future 

Grab.in (Formerly Grab a Grub) a food-logistics firm was founded by Jignesh Patel, Nishant Vora and Pratish Sanghvi in 2012. Grab believes that last mile of the food delivery chain- that is – delivering food from the restaurant to the door-step of the customer is the most challenging step.

Grab, with a team of 500 smart riders on its rolls in Mumbai, ensure that the food is delivered in 40 minutes from the time a customer places an order at the restaurant. At present Grab works with over 350 restaurants in Mumbai and have now launched its services in Pune. Last financial year, it delivered  orders worth Rs 35 crore in Mumbai.

Grab recently raised $1 million from Oliphans Capital and independent investor Haresh Chawla. The funding will enable Grab to expand in new markets like Pune and others in the near future. The company plans on deploying 800 riders in Pune enabling it to deliver approximately 7000 orders daily across 700 outlets.

Said Pratish Sanghvi, “Home delivery orders are a significant portion of a restaurants turnover. However, the last mile delivery is a challenge for most restaurants. Grab uses technology to ensure the operational execution is seamless. While Grab reduces a restaurant’s delivery costs by converting it from fixed to a variable cost, it also allows it to expand its reach to a larger customer base”

Added Nishant Vora, Co-founder, Grab “While online food ordering is catching the customer’s attention, it’s the restaurants that eventually take care of the final delivery. Hence, we do not face competition from the online food ordering vertical. Hyper-local logistics remains our forte and our focused attention on its execution is Grab’s biggest strength”.

Grab has recently tapped into the tiffin delivery segment predominantly run by Mumbai’s famous dabbawallas. A deeper penetration into the city with the option of delivering tiffins even in the night, has allowed Grab to bridge the gap. 

Grab’s team of smart riders are connected and trackable in real time with Grab’s mobile app, similar to the ones used by cab aggregators. At any given point of time, a restaurant using Grab’s services will be able to track and share precise delivery time with the customer.

  

Grab’s clients include Mainland China, Subway, Smokin Joes, Punjab Grill, Sbarro, Cocoberry, Pesca Fresh, Maroosh, Birdys, Theobroma, Busago, Cafe Mangii, Torrp it Up, Zaafran, and many more. 

So next time you order-in your food, don’t forget to check the logo on the delivery boy’s shirt. Chances are, he would be one of the Grab’s Smart Riders.