Delhi NCR-based farm-to-fork vegetable provider Otipy has shut down its operations. The decision was made known to employees in a town hall last Saturday, May 17.
Otipy’s co-founder and CEO, Varun Khurana, informed around 300 employees that the startup could not continue and advised them to explore better options. The shutdown has left the employees in a difficult situation.
A former employee said, “It was a shock. We went to the office like any other normal Saturday, and then we were informed that our livelihood was gone. It felt like the ground beneath our feet was gone.”
Otipy has also failed to disburse employee salaries for the past one and a half months. In the townhall, Varun Khurana assured that the startup will attempt to liquidate its assets to clear the pending dues.
A former Otipy employee expressed frustration, saying, “We have to look out for a job in this tough market again. We are still processing it.” Additionally, the company has also failed to clear pending vendor payments, further complicating the situation.
A vendor, whose payments for several months are pending, revealed that issues began in October last year when payments started getting delayed. “The problems started in October last year when payments started getting delayed. Initially, the management, including the founder, used to assuage us. However, since the beginning of this year, they stopped picking our calls.”
Otipy has informed its customers about the shutdown and assured them that refunds for outstanding wallet balances will be initiated within 60 to 90 days. Attempts to reach Varun Khurana via emails and calls were unsuccessful at the time of publishing the story.
Otipy, founded by Varun Khurana and Prashant Jain in 2020, was a B2B2C social commerce platform that delivered fresh produce, including vegetables, fruits, dairy, and groceries, directly to customers.
