Starbucks delivery now live in Canada via Uber Eats app

Swiggy, the on-demand convenience platform, has launched 'Explore' to revolutionize food discovery for users. Addressing the common challenge of repetitive orders, this feature allows users to broaden their culinary horizons effortlessly.

'Explore' offers personalized suggestions, recommending new restaurants, cuisines, and dishes based on users' preferences. Backed by reasons and social proof, each recommendation encourages users to try something different. It also highlights award-winning and trending dishes, helping users uncover hidden culinary gems.

Rohit Kapoor, CEO of Swiggy's Food Marketplace, explained, “Swiggy has thousands of unique dishes on the platform, yet most users typically repeat the same 8-10 dishes. The Explore feature introduces personalized options to users, offering a chance to discover a new dish, a new restaurant, or even a trending dish they may not have tasted before."

Besides benefiting users, 'Explore' provides an opportunity for restaurants to showcase their offerings and experiment with new dishes and cuisines. Sandhya Seshadri, owner of Choux Box Patisserie, expressed her satisfaction, “Swiggy is helping us reach more customers via their Explore feature.”

Accessible through Swiggy's food ordering page, 'Explore' enables users to explore a curated selection of legendary eateries, hidden gems, bestseller dishes, and favorite cuisines from new restaurants.

The Hyderabad based Deliveroo India Development Centre announces the introduction of 'India Women in Tech' Group as a component of Deliveroo’s global Women in Tech Employee Resource Group (ERG) dedicated to enhancing gender diversity and empowering women in technical positions.

The primary objective of the Women in Tech ERG is to provide assistance and facilitate the progress and advancement of women occupying technical positions. 

This initiative strives to create broader prospects for women in technical roles within Deliveroo while fostering an inclusive and supportive work environment.

“Our mission is to improve gender diversity in technical roles not only within Deliveroo but also beyond our organization, while simultaneously supporting our women employees through mentoring and other means to aid their career advancement.” said Shubhi Shrivastava, Program Leader at IDC. 

The ‘India Women in Tech’ team consists of a group of enthusiastic and passionate women based at the India Development Centre (IDC). 

Currently comprising 26 members, the team aims to be proportionally represented in various spheres and make significant contributions to Deliveroo’s global Women in Tech ERG. 

In 2023, the 'Women in Tech' team in India aims to enhance gender diversity and engagement by increasing the hiring of women in technical roles. They will leverage Deliveroo's global engagement programs and ERG initiatives to provide valuable opportunities for Indian team members. The team will strategically plan global events, networking activities, mentorship programmes, and invite distinguished women speakers to share their experiences of career-family balance, overcoming gender bias, and engaging in technical discussions. These initiatives will empower team members for professional growth and advancement.

UK-based food delivery company Deliveroo has started its first internship programme for graduating college students in India.

The six-month paid internship programme gives interns the opportunity to work at the innovative food-tech company's India Development Centre (IDC) located in Hyderabad, where they are given the opportunity to work closely with the core engineering teams focused on Restaurant tech, Consumer Tech, Delivery, Care & Trust, and Finance.

Students from Vasavi Engineering College majoring in Computer Science & Information Technology have been selected through a robust campus hiring programme that involved multiple rounds of interviews to assess their interpersonal, technical and prototyping skills.

Furthermore, given the rapid pace at which consumer-facing technology is evolving, the programme is also expected to provide fresh perspectives to the engineering teams that are solving critical challenges. This will put the students on an accelerated career path and give them a higher chance of being integrated into a corporate environment.  

“We have tailored this programme as an avenue for India's promising engineering talent to build on their academic nous with practical exposure to disruptive technology that happens at Deliveroo every day. Similar to our partnership with Vasavi Engineering College, we want to build long-term relationships with premier academic institutions in India, which will help us eventually create a deeper talent pool for IDC in the coming years,” shared Sashi Somavarapu, Vice President - Engineering and Country Head, Deliveroo India.

For the tenure of the programme, the interns will have a specialised learning plan with identified goals and collaboration opportunities. The company also has plans to expand the internship program beyond the Hyderabad region across India in the upcoming phases.

Deliveroo's IDC in India is the largest technology hub outside of the United Kingdom, where the company is headquartered and supports its primary engineering operations in its home country. 140 out of Deliveroo's 600 global engineering workforce is based out of this centre, and it serves as a core part of Deliveroo's central technology organisation having employees specialising in the field of analytics, platforms, automation, and machine learning.

Deliveroo's CEO Will Shu is making his first-ever visit to the Deliveroo India Development Centre (IDC) in Hyderabad.

The visit demonstrates the centre's important role in Deliveroo's global technology organisation and its vision to become the definitive global online food platform. 

The IDC, launched in March 2022, is Deliveroo's largest tech hub outside the United Kingdom and has since made significant progress on its multi-year plan to build a world-class engineering team in India.

The centre currently comprises 140 employees and is expected to exceed 200 by the end of 2023.

Deliveroo has also expanded beyond Hyderabad to access leading tech talent across other metros like Bangalore, Gurgaon, and Mumbai, through shared space partner (Cowrks). 

“I’m excited to see the success of Deliveroo's India Development Centre over the past year, which is a vital part of our global tech org. Technology enables us to continuously improve our consumer value proposition at a hyperlocal level, optimises the end-to-end order journey for all three sides of our marketplace, in real-time, and provides the infrastructure to scale our business efficiently,” shared Will Shu, CEO, and Founder, Deliveroo by adding that they look forward to strengthening their presence in India further in 2023 and to building a world-class team that drives their vision of being the definitive food company.

During his visit to India, CEO Will Shu met with various stakeholders, including K.T. Rama Rao, Minister of Information Technology, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, and Industries and Commerce, and Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments of the Government of Telangana, and Gareth Wynn Owen, British Deputy High Commissioner Hyderabad to discuss IDC’s milestones and achievements over the past year, priorities for 2023 and growth plans. 

The IDC provides multi-disciplinary support to Deliveroo's global technology team in the UK, embedding themselves within UK-based teams in the global Care & Trust, Financial Systems, Consumer, Delivery, Grocery, Platform, Restaurants, and Product Engineering teams. Working together on integrated projects, the IDC tech team works on a wide range of exciting tech solutions, including enhancing the customer experience, improving navigation of the grocery experience, improving promotions targeting and developing Deliveroo’s advertising platform.  

The Centre will focus on hiring the right talent, hiring and developing those in leadership positions and diversify functions.

Academic partnerships is also a priority for IDC in 2023, and the company aims to attract a diverse mix of talents from leading universities across India. 

Deliveroo has made an impactful progress with its presence in India and plans to develop innovative products and systems that will deliver superior experiences for its millions of customers, 176,000 restaurants and grocery partners, and around 150,000 riders across 10 markets: Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Qatar, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and the United Kingdom.

While the pandemic has rendered a lot of our dreams of eating out futile, it has also led to a more conscious food consumption pattern in people across the world.

Out Of The Blue announces the launch of its special delivery kitchen, One Tight Wrap which is ready to dish out tasty wraps, salads, baked nachos, pure chocolate wraps with no added sugar, and more.

Also Read: How Covid-19 pandemic has given a boost to the delivery biz

Recognizing the need for variety in healthy food that is not just limited to salads, Rahul Bajaj came up with the concept of One Tight Wrap, which boasts of over a dozen varieties of healthy wraps, sweet and savoury, co-created with celebrity chef and artist Ananya Banerjee.

“We wanted to create a menu that would be suitable for someone who is just about dipping his/her toes into healthy eating, who is starting with clean, healthy eating, and even someone who has been following it for a while. Wraps seemed like the perfect amalgamation of the two worlds, interesting salads on a roll,” added Bajaj, Founder, Director, and Conceptualizer at One Tight Wrap.

Their wrap bases are specially made of organic, gluten-free, vegan flours with choices of Amaranth-Beetroot, Amaranth Cauliflower, Soybean-Carrot, Soybean-Cauliflower, and even Sourdough varieties.

One Tight Wrap is also offering vegan, keto, pure chocolate, sugar-free varieties, and Jain specialties too.

With the promise of utmost hygiene practices and quality ingredients, customers have the right to deliver one tight wrap if they find their ingredients sub-par.

May Interest: Restaurants Unlock 2020

“We have always been very cautious about hygiene in all our kitchens, be it Out of The Blue or Deli by The Blue and One Tight Wrap will be no different. Our staff has been quarantined in our Le Sutra Hotel since the beginning of the lockdown and undergoes regular temperature checks, hand washing reminders, and all other precautions necessary at this time to maintain the utmost care and cleanliness discipline,” added Bajaj.

They have also partnered with Swiggy and Zomato, and are delivering their offerings across Mumbai from 18th Nov’20. Patrons can also call in/ WhatsApp their orders on 99200 20227.

Out of Pao that is born out of the love for pao in the city of Mumbai has launched its first delivery kitchen in the city.

The cloud kitchen offers delicious dishes stuffed with international and exotic fillings into the locally beloved pav.

Also Read: Restaurants Unlock 2020

“Every dish on the menu is like a mini tradition trip to the origin of flavour that’ll leave you wanting for more. Personally, pav is my first love and I am devoted to it - be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  All the creations and variations I wanted to bring to life along with experimenting with world cuisine is reflected in Out Of Pao. Simply put, Out Of Pao is a trendy and refreshing culinary experience, posing perfectly for the new cool food,” shared Dave Malhotra, partner at Septagon Hospitality.

Out Of Pao’s menu brings you a rainbow of options that’ll leave you fascinated with the delightful and trendy variations. From Mexican beans to paneer to chicken to mushroom, the menu also covers a diversity of taste buds. So one can expect to find Amigo, Pesto Pao, Lucy in the Sky, and Mi-so Sexyto name a few of the additions.

May Interest: Anjan Chatterjee owned Speciality Restaurants plans to set up 26 cloud kitchens across the country

The menu is of an ‘all-day’ nature, to be eaten whenever you want. Especially, when you wish to eat something new, light, and yet stomach-filling, you can sure choose Out Of Pao as your first option because ain’t nobody like our desi pav!

The orders can be placed through Swiggy and Zomato as they are serving their delicacies pan-Mumbai.

Keeping it steady and going, the brand plans to expand and soon transform into a food truck in the near future.

Food delivery brand at West Delhi, The Tummy Section recently opened their 4^th Outlet in the capital.

With the launch of this fresh looking outlet at Jail Road, they are set to open another new delivery outlet in next month near dussehera at Sushant Lok 1, Gurgaon.

The Tummy Section is also eyeing to open total 6 outlets by the end of this year.

They have tastefully designed this outlet as a Delivery Outlet with a small café opening soon on first floor with a spread of 45 covers.

The restaurant serves food inspired from Middle East, Malaysia, America & other parts of the world with menu conceptualized around different version of Shawarma.

“Our goal is simple, we’re here to serve the fusion form of Shawarma (We call it Shawario) in town and we promise that once anyone try our succulent and flavourful dishes, they’ll keep coming for more. After seeing the response and love for our previous outlets already there in Delhi, we were excited to open the new ones. We hope to get the same amount of love for this outlet too”, said Nikhil Arora, Co-Founder, The Tummy Section.

With the launch of this new fresh outlet at Jail Road, the brand is all lit up with great new additions in the menu for their customers.

The brand’s daily average is seeing a huge shift from mid July. Orders are picking up and so is ticket size. Brand is currently catering around 350+ orders on peak days and approx 250 orders on normal days.

After a long wait for over 5 months, reports of dining in at restaurants in Maharashtra finally resuming in a month from now, is a welcome relief for the F&B industry. 

Over the last 5 months, Dineout encouraged users to stay home and dine out later and used that time to work with restaurants to make them #SafeToEatOut again once the lockdown restrictions were lifted. Dineout introduced Contactless Dining with QR codes and also partnered with Equinox Labs to provide hygiene certifications to enable #SafeToEatOut again!

Dineout’s campaign is also instrumental in building diner confidence by educating and creating awareness about the safety measures taken by partner restaurants. Users can see the certified restaurants on the Dineout App with their audit rating and make an informed decision. 

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08rGV-C5hMA

According to a recent report by Dineout, users are now considering restaurants with premium hygiene standards and safety tags. While they had Zero transactions during the lockdown, there is now a 4X traffic on partner restaurants with #SafeToEatOut tag as compared to restaurants without contactless technology and safety tags.

The data also reflects the adoption of QR code technology within the F&B industry for providing digital menu and digital payment solutions. Over 80% of the payments are done using digital modes instead of cash/card owing to safety and hygiene measures.

Dineout sees a sharp increase in restaurant reservations and transactions across the country. Delhi scores highest in terms of restaurant reservation volumes followed by Bangalore and Kolkata.

In Delhi, 86% of reservations were made for two with maximum reservations at Castle BBQ. Hyderabad saw families visiting restaurants with 65% of people reserving a table for 4 at Absolute Barbecues.

In Chandigarh and Kolkata, Pirates Of Grill and BBQ Nation witnessed the highest footfall respectively with 38% and 32% reservations when compared with pre-COVID numbers. 

58% of the business in the month of August was generated from Casual Dining restaurants followed by cafes and Quick Service Restaurants (QSR). Millennials were the flag-bearers of this growth with over 78% of diners between the age group of 18-35 years.

“Leading restaurants across the country are beginning to open doors past delivery & takeout. With #SafeToEatOut campaign we’re making sure that our users get premium hygiene and safety standards at the partner restaurants. Interestingly, more than 80% of people were making payments using Dineout Pay while checking out,” said Ankit Mehrotra, Co-Founder & CEO – Dineout.

Commenting on the same, Anjan Chatterjee, Founder, Chairman and MD, Speciality Restaurants Pvt Ltd, “Our restaurants have gone above and beyond to make sure that they are safe for diners. We have received a good response from guests coming back to our outlets for Dine in at Bangalore and Kolkata. We have implemented measures like distanced seating arrangements, demarcated waiting spots in queues and controlled diner inflow among others. With the help of technology and certified hygiene measures, we are looking forward to make dining experiences safe & memorable again.

Chili’s parent is planning to launch a portfolio of virtual concepts. Brinker International the parent of Chili's and Maggiano's restaurant chains, reported Wednesday a narrower-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter loss, although revenue missed, and provided an upbeat first-quarter outlook.

Also Read: Lite Bite Foods forays into cloud kitchens, aims at Rs 100 cr turnover by 2023

The company swung to a net loss for the quarter to June 24 of $$9.2 million, or $1.20 a share, from net income of $46.7 million, or $1.22 a share, in the year-ago period

According to Restaurant Business Online Just Wings, was actually the second virtual brand in the pipeline. The company had experimented with “sort of a Mexican” virtual concept that showed some whimsy in its menu and recipes.

“We tested a couple of ideas, and we pretty quickly decided that It’s Just

They are currently delivering wings, curly fries, fried Oreos and the other specialties of It’s Just Wings from over 1,050 units of Chili’s and its sister concept, Maggiano’s.

The report also mentioned that a brand like It’s Just Wings could be franchised to operations outside of Brinker.

May Interest: “Cloud kitchens is the business for the present and the future”

Same-store sales of company-owned Chili's restaurants fell 32.2% and dropped 66.7% at Maggiano's restaurants.

For the first month of the current quarter, same-store sales at Chili's were down 10.9% and were down 44.6% at Maggiano's.

For the full first-quarter, the company expects an adjusted loss of 40 cents to 25 cents a share, compared with the FactSet loss consensus of 60 cents, and overall same-store sales down in the low to mid-teens percentage range.

KFC and Pizza Hut have introduced a contactless delivery service in China in order to reduce the risk of person-to-person transmission of the deadly Wuhan-based coronavirus that continues to spread throughout the country. 

While placing an order online, customers can select the “contactless delivery” option and couriers will call to set a delivery location. Couriers will be waiting until the customer shows up before they take the food out of its carrying case and put it on the delivery location agreed on by both parties in advance.

Then, couriers will step back and watch from a distance of at least 10 feet as the customer picks up the food and leaves. Couriers are required to wear masks and disinfect their hands and delivery boxes following each delivery. 

Parent company Yum China said in a statement, “The health and wellbeing of our employees and customers is our top priority and the innovative new services will help reduce the risk of person-to-person transmission of the coronavirus and protect our employees and customers.”

Contactless in-store pickup service

KFC and Pizza Hut have also launched a contactless in-store pickup service at several locations. These stores have installed the pickup racks.

All orders, both in-store and takeout, will be having takeout packaging in a bid to avoid exposing the food to potential viruses in the air.  

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, person-to-person transmission of the deadly Wuhan-based coronavirus takes place during close contact, or within about 6 feet, when an infected person coughs or sneezes. This virus has killed at least 362 people and infected over 17,000 worldwide.

Shake Shack, the popular burger chain, has teamed up with GrubHub for nationwide delivery across the US. The partnership includes technology integration at the point of sale to better time deliveries to enhance the guest experience.

Currently, Shake Shack is testing its new Grubhub delivery partnership at four locations, including Morningside Heights in Manhattan; the River North area of Chicago; Livingston, New Jersey; and Darien, Connecticut. Both the companies will expand delivery to Shake Shack's 150 or so US restaurants over roughly the next nine months.

Randy Garutti, CEO of Shake Shack, said, “It really does a dynamic job on the tech side of measuring time, giving guests and carriers a good marriage of time goals so we have the best shot at lessening the time. We decided Grubhub was the best partner overall. With their national footprint and the way we are going to integrate on the tech side, we have a really good opportunity to give the best guest experience.”

“In the old days, the power was in the restaurants’ hands to tell you how you could get there, what I love about this is we’ve put all the power in the guests’ hands, which is exactly what hospitality should be about, now however you want it, wherever you want it, you get it. And that is what’s so exciting,” he added.

Starbucks will expands its partnership with Uber Eats to bring its on-demand delivery service across the United States by early 2020. The American coffee company first partnered with Uber Eats in 2018.

Roz Brewer, Group President and COO, Starbucks, said, “We are driven to create new and unique digital experiences that are meaningful, valuable and convenient for our customers. Partnering with Uber Eats helps us take another step towards bringing Starbucks to customers wherever they are.”

At present, Starbucks delivers through Uber Eats in Miami, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, Houston and Dallas. 

Jason Droege, VP of UberEverything, stated, “Our customers are huge Starbucks fans and love being able to get their favorite items delivered with Uber Eats speed. We’re excited to expand our partnership across the United States to make ordering their favorite coffee and breakfast sandwich as easy as requesting a ride.”

Prior to the Uber Eats partnership, Starbucks had collaborated with Postmates to deliver food and drinks back in 2015. However, this collaboration never made it out of the launch market in Seattle.

Dunkin' has partnered with Grubhub, the US leading online and mobile food-ordering and delivery marketplace, to start the rollout of its new Dunkin' Delivers service. In the initial launch, over 400 Dunkin' restaurants throughout New York City's five boroughs will now be offering delivery through Grubhub's New York brand, Seamless.

Going further, Dunkin' and Grubhub will be expanding the Dunkin' Delivers service to restaurants throughout other markets, including in Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Stephanie Meltzer-Paul, Vice President of Digital and Loyalty Marketing, Dunkin' US, said, "Keeping Americans energized with the coffee and food they crave, wherever and whenever they want, is what our guests expect from Dunkin'. By partnering with Grubhub, Dunkin' will be there for more people even when they're staying at home or are busy at work. We've collaborated closely with Grubhub to optimize the service in our initial testing, and we've been encouraged by the strong customer response. We are thrilled to launch Dunkin' Delivers in New York City today and look forward to working with Grubhub to expand the service in additional cities in the months ahead."

Seth Priebatsch, Head of Enterprise at Grubhub, added, "Dunkin' is an iconic, beloved brand that has long been a daily ritual for millions of people. The chance to help Dunkin' extend their reach by bringing their signature coffees, donuts and more to Grubhub and Seamless customers marks an exciting moment for both of our companies. By deepening our relationship through our direct POS integration, we're able to create the most efficient process, ensuring that both in-store operations run smoothly and that customers get their favorites delivered in the fastest way possible."

Subway has partnered with DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates and Uber Eats to bring nationwide delivery to 9,000 restaurants. It is one of the biggest delivery deals in foodservice struck by Subway.

Michael Lang, Subway's Senior Director of Global Convenience, said, "Delivery is more than just giving our guests a way to order the sandwiches they want. We want to connect with consumers and give them the convenience of choice, whether it’s in a customized, made-to-order sandwich or in how they get their meals. Amazing partners like UberEats, Grubhub, DoorDash, and Postmates give us the opportunity to reach guests wherever they are and whenever they get a Subway craving."

अपनी विस्तार नीति के चलते ऑनलाइन फूड ऑर्डरिंग एवं डिलीवरी प्लेटफॉर्म फूडपांडा ने अपने वितरण नेटवर्क का विस्तार 13 नए शहरों तक कर लिया है| इन शहरों में जयपुर, चंडीगढ़, कानपूर, लखनऊ, इंदौर,अहमदाबाद, नासिक, नागपुर, मैसूर, भुवनेश्वर, गुवाहाटी, विशाखापट्टनम और कोयम्बटूर शामिल है|

कंपनी पहले से ही सात शहरों, बेंगलुरु, मुंबई, नई दिल्ली, कोलकाता, चेन्नई, हैदराबाद और पुणे में मौजूद है|

कंपनी के सी. ई. ओ. प्रणय जिव्रजका ने कहा, "हम करोड़ों भारतीयों तक अपनी सेवाएं पहुंचाने के उद्देश्य से बहुत तीव्र गति से देश भर में विस्तार कार्य कर रहे हैं| 13 शहरों में 5000 डिलीवरी पार्टनर्स को कंपनी के प्लेटफॉर्म से जोड़ा गया है|

फूडपांडा का ओला प्लेटफॉर्म का हिस्सा होने के चलते, इन सभी शहरों में उपभोगताओं के बड़े समूहों को बेहतर अनुभव  देने के लिए, अपनी सेवाओं को समन्वित करने की संभावनाओं पर भी काम करेगा|

एक बेमिसाल वितरण अनुभव प्रदान करने के उद्देश्य को सार्थक कर पाने के लिए फूडपांडा इंडिया की अगले दो महीने में 60,000 डिलीवरी राइडर्स को हायर करने की योजना है|

As part of its expansion strategy across India, Online food ordering and delivery platform Foodpanda has expanded its delivery network to 13 new cities. These cities include Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kanpur, Lucknow, Indore, Ahmedabad, Nashik, Nagpur, Mysore, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Visakhapatnam and Coimbatore.

The company already has existence in seven cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.

Pranay Jivrajka, CEO of Foodpanda, said, "We are in the midst of a fast-paced nationwide expansion with an ambition to serve a billion Indians." 

5,000 delivery partners have been boarded to the company’s platform in these 13 cities.

"Being a part of the Ola platform, Foodpanda will explore opportunities to synergise its services and efforts of delivering superior food experiences to cater to a wider pool of customers across these cities," Jivrajka added. 

Foodpanda India is aiming to hire 60,000 delivery riders in the next two months to ensure seamless delivery experience.

Genie Solutions Pvt Ltd the Chennai-based hyperlocal delivery and logistics startup has acquired food delivery firm Dinein.in an all-stock deal, a company statement said.

As per the Statement explaining the deal, Genie will acquire the Dinein brand, the 25-member team, the delivery fleet; restaurant partner contracts, technology and the startup’s call centre business. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The startup is also looking to strengthen its technological infrastructure before going to other markets and increasing its presence in Chennai.

Dinein which is run by Easy Deli Logistics Pvt Ltd, was started in late 2012 by Vinit Chordia and worked with more than 250 restaurants in Chennai to deliver food to customers. The startup claims that it was fulfilling about 6,000 orders a month in 2017.

Mithun Sacheti, founder of online jewellery firm Caratlane.com (now a part of Tata’s Tanishq) who was an investor with Dinein.in will serve as a mentor for Genie.

Chordia in a statement said, “We see this as a great opportunity to grow and offer great experience to customers. With a focused food delivery service and a pureplay logistics platform coming together, creating a wholesome service that can help users get anything they need at their doorstep.”

Founded by Rakesh Mani, Sreekesh Krishnan and Parth Shah, Genie is a bike-based, tech-enabled logistics platform which serves both consumers and businesses in Chennai.

Krishnan, who is a graduate in electronics engineering, has co-founded other startups and has held stints in marketing prior to setting up Genie. Mani, who oversees operations and human resources at Genie, previously led social development projects in education, environment and women empowerment. Shah, a chartered accountant by profession, has previously worked at Deloitte and also co-founded a startup, Instadel.

The startup said, its current focus is to grow and consolidate business partnerships. It currently claims to do more than 10,000 orders with a fleet of over 100 people.

Run by Genie Solutions Private Limited, the firm which was founded in early 2015, had suspended operations on 31 March 2017 due to lack of funds. However, the startup resumed business in May 2017 after it raised $250,000 from a group of unnamed high net-worth individuals.