In Bengaluru, Swiggy is Testing a 10-minute Medicine Delivery Service

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Oct 29, 2024 — 2 min read

Swiggy Tests 10-Minute Medicine Delivery Service in Bengaluru

In an effort to broaden its selection and provide 10-minute medication delivery, Swiggy, an IPO-bound food and grocery delivery service, has teamed up with PharmEasy. The Bengaluru-based company doesn't need any more governmental approvals for this venture because it is collaborating with the e-pharmacy company.

Indeed, Swiggy was already using Instamart, the company's rapid commerce division, to distribute basic over-the-counter (OTC) medications, including pain reliever sprays and other items. Swiggy will expand into the e-pharmacy market with this new cooperation in order to reach a wider audience.

Testing its Pilot Project in Bengaluru

In Bengaluru, where it is first testing this service, Swiggy will transport medications such as painkillers, fever medications, and medications that need a valid prescription. According to a media report, a doctor can create the prescription during a consultation on Pharmeasy, or the patient can upload it.

In an effort to increase average order values (AOVs) and boost profitability, fast commerce companies are now venturing into new markets.

How Swiggy Plans to Operate its Medical Delivery Services?

Through its Instamart service, Swiggy might be able to deliver prescription medications to customers' doorsteps in ten minutes due to this collaboration. According to reports, Pharmeasy has also opened locations within Swiggy's dark stores as part of the campaign. Swiggy will begin providing medications that need a legitimate prescription, such as painkillers and fever medications.

Instamart's dark stores use a novel "shop-in-shop" architecture that enables Swiggy to deliver prescribed medications—a first for quick commerce. Despite growing revenue, Swiggy is taking this action in an effort to boost average order values and to reduce its growing losses.

Swiggy’s Financial Report

According to the company's latest draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), food tech giant Swiggy's losses increased by 8% to INR 611 crore in Q1 FY25 from INR 564 crore in the same period last year due to growing expenses. The company's expenditures for the three months were INR 3,908 crore, a 27% increase over the INR 3,073 crore spent in the previous fiscal year.

During the April-June period of the current fiscal year, Swiggy's operational revenue was INR 3,222.2 crore, a 35 percent increase over the INR 2,389.8 crore for the same period the year before. In contrast, Zomato, its publicly traded competitor, made INR 253 crore in Q1 FY25 after generating INR 4,206 crore in revenue (a 74% increase year over year).

Overall, Swiggy's sales increased 36% from INR 8,265 crore to INR 11,247 crore in FY24. Thanks to better cost control, their losses during this time decreased by 44% to INR 2,350 crore from INR 4,179 crore.