Bengaluru-based Bike taxi startup Rapido has launched Rapido Store, a new inter-city logistics service for businesses to deliver products to consumers’ doorsteps. The company, in a statement, said that the service targets both offline and online businesses, and is currently functional in Bengaluru and Vijayawada, soon be launched in other cities.
The new development came amid the COVID-19 outbreak that has evidently boosted growth for the digital services sector. Rapido Store will help businesses track all their deliveries through a simple dashboard on their smartphones. The base price of the service starts from INR 35 for 3km in Bengaluru and INR 30 for 3km in Vijayawada.
The company has claimed that it has already accumulated over 200 small and medium businesses on its new logistics platform. Rapido Store will leverage its fleet of riders to ensure quick and secure deliveries. The riders, commonly called ‘captains’ at Rapido, will be given training and safety guidelines.
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With the launch of Rapido Store, the company will directly be competing with foodtech giant Swiggy, which has launched a similar model of service under the name ‘Genie’ in April. Other startups, including Shadowfax and Dunzo, have also pivoted into the same model as a revival plan during the COVID-19 crisis.
Commenting on the development, Aravind Sanka, co-founder of Rapido, in a statement, said,
“Rapido Store will give businesses and entrepreneurs an opportunity to maintain continuity and also increase sales by reaching out to new customers by leveraging Rapido’s extensive network. The service will allow these businesses to overcome manpower and mobility challenges by helping them deliver their orders and save time,”
It is assumed that the launch of Rapido Store in other cities across India won’t be much challenging since the company owns over 1500K registered captains across 100 cities in India.
Rapido was founded in 2015 by Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli, and Rishikesh SR. The company has raised over $78 million until now from a clutch of investors including AdvantEdge Founders, Skycatcher, Thompson Taraz, Astarc Ventures, Westbridge Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners.
