Swiggy Halts Niche Grocery Delivery Pilot 'Handpicked' In Cost-Cutting Drive

Swiggy has decided to shut down its premium grocery delivery pilot ‘Handpicked’ — a niche offering introduced in December 2022, as the Zomato rival tries to cut costs across the board.

What Happened? A spokesperson from Swiggy confirmed the development to the Economic Times and said, “We have had several positive learnings from Handpicked, which was being piloted in a few zones in Bengaluru”.

The company has been selling gourmet, imported, and hard-to-get grocery products through Handpicked, such as Coca-Cola‘s Cherry Cola, Methi Khakhra from Gujarat, and spreads and ready-to-cook meat from Italian, German, and Mexican cuisines.

The SoftBank-backed company will continue to sell groceries through Instamart and Insanely Good.

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This news of ‘Handpicked’ coming to an end arrives at a time when the company is facing newer challenges, such as launching an e-commerce vertical dubbed Maxx, cutting down on staff, and shutting down its meat delivery business.

The company has also witnessed a churn in its top leadership, with its quick-commerce business head stepping aside and the CTO leaving. The company’s senior vice president of consumer tech and fintech (engineering and product), Madhusudan Rao, will replace the CTO.

Swiggy also recently instituted a platform fee of ₹2 for all orders to help lower its cash burn, which is significantly higher than that of its rival, Zomato, in its food delivery business that remained stagnant after the Covid-19 pandemic started receding.

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