Blinkit to launch cafe that serves samosas and chai as quick bites: Mint

Blinkit is preparing to launch a Cafe feature for delivering snacks and beverages, sources familiar with the plan informed Mint. This move aims to enhance its quick commerce offering and align with parent company Zomato's 10-minute food delivery strategy while competing with industry rivals.

Accoridng to a source mentioned in the Mint report, the feature is expected to launch in pilot mode in select cities as early as this month. Initially, Blinkit will offer fast-moving snacks like samosas and sandwiches, gradually expanding to items requiring more preparation, such as pasta and noodles, based on user response, the source added.

The new service will compete directly with Zepto Cafe, launched in 2021, with a pilot project starting from Mumbai. The service focuses on providing fast deliveries of food items such as chai, coffee, samosas, and croissants, in addition to groceries.

The move is also expected to help Zomato reinforce its focus on 10-minute food deliveries, a strategy that rival Swiggy appears to be exploring as well. Just last week, Swiggy launched ‘Bolt’ in six cities to enable quick deliveries within a 2 km radius. Through Bolt, Swiggy will deliver food from popular restaurants like KFC, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Baskin Robbins, Chaayos, and EatFit in 10 minutes.

Blinkit has also made strides in smaller cities, with plans to gradually expand its footprint, according to Zomato CFO Akshant Goyal during the FY24 annual general meeting in August. The quick commerce company aims to increase its dark store count to 1,000 by the end of FY25 and 2,000 by FY26.