Anand Mahindra and Zepto’s Aadit Palicha debate merits of 10-min deliveries on Twitter

Zepto founder Aadit Palicha responded to Anand Mahindra on Twitter regarding a concern with how delivery partners will be treated during this new arms race of 10-minute quick commerce deliveries.

Mahindra had retweeted a post by Tata Memorial director Pramesh CS, who said “the 10 minute delivery for grocery is just inhuman to the delivery person. Just stop it! Customers can live with a 2 or even a 6 hour delivery time.”

Mahindra had stated a simple “I agree…” and Palicha decided to step in with some information on Zepto’s practices to put the industry legend at ease.

Quoting his company’s statistics, Palicha stated, “The avg [average] distance of a Zepto delivery is 1.8 km. To travel 1.8 km in 10 minutes, one has to drive at <15 kmph. That’s why Zepto has 3.1x lower accidents on avg [average] compared to a regular biker on the road.”

Palicha made a point of noting that quick commerce’s fundamental principle is not quicker deliveries, but smaller delivery radiuses. He said, “10-min delivery is about short distances, not fast speeds.”

The quick commerce industry has seen a boom in recent months with the entry of new companies like Zepto, and the adaptation of traditional foodtech companies as well. Dunzo, Swiggy, Zomato, Ola Dash, JioMart, and BlinkIt (previously Grofers) have already entered or are piloting products in the space.

However, there has also been strong pushback from the market regarding the same issue Anand Mahindra had. Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal announced Zomato Instant earlier this year, and faced instant backlash on Twitter along the lines of Pramesh CS’ tweet.

Goyal had to clarify that Zomato Instant would not aim to endanger driver safety lives, by not mentioning to drivers what their expected delivery time was, nor punishing those that were unable to deliver within the promised time.

Palicha’s response to Mahindra was just the latest response from the 10-minute commerce industry as they try to reassure customers’ concerns around their product.