Numerous startups emerged when the grocery revolution occurred in India. By grocery revolution, we mean the e-grocery system. Here you order the edibles online and then they are delivered to your doorstep. You must be well aware of e-grocery because it has become common nowadays. One such startup was Supr Daily!
Ever since Swiggy Instamart hit the market, Swiggy Supr Daily’s significance fainted day by day. Although the latter existed only in tier-1 cities, still it couldn’t regain its old fame! And suddenly it was in the news headlines- “Swiggy shuts down Supr Daily.”
Wasn’t Swiggy highly desperate to acquire Supr Daily back in 2018? Then why did Swiggy shut down Supr Daily? You may wonder.
There were not just one or two but many reasons behind it. In this write-up, we will shed light on the key reasons for shutting down Swiggy Supr Daily.
Keep reading!
A Brief History
Launched in 2015, Supr Daily delivers daily essentials to your home by 7 am daily. The essentials included eggs, bread, fruits, baby care, pet needs, veggies, etc. The successful operations of Supr Daily allured Swiggy, the food delivery giant.
During 2018, Swiggy was looking to explore the e-grocery subscription space. Reason? Ordering food from the restaurant is a choice for customers. But grocery delivery is the evergreen vertical. After all, you can’t survive without groceries! So, instead of introducing its own vertical, Swiggy acquired a well-going micro-delivery startup operating in the e-grocery space.
Thus, in September 2018, Swiggy acquired Supr Daily. Thereafter, Swiggy restructured Supr Daily to unlock the delivery potential by investing heavily! Also, it rebranded the subsidiary as “Swiggy Supr Daily.”
Unfortunately, in May 2022, Swiggy shut down Supr Daily. But why? Due to the reasons described in the next section.
Key Reasons behind the End of Swiggy Supr Daily
So, let’s delve into the prime factors that led to the dissolution of the micro delivery vertical “Swiggy Supr Daily”-
1. Heavy Losses
The first and foremost reason for shutting down Swiggy Supr Daily was heavy losses. Swiggy had shut down Supr Daily in five Indian cities, namely-
- Delhi-NCR
- Mumbai
- Pune
- Hyderabad
- Chennai
Supr Daily was not financially viable for Swiggy. It suspended the operations of this subscription-based delivery service because it didn’t generate optimum profits.
Did Swiggy Supr Daily lack in its working strategy? You may ask. Absolutely not! Its operations and working strategy were perfect. You can see the evidence in the following data where the user base of Swiggy Supr Daily boomed rapidly-
- Daily orders in 2018: 6,000
- Daily orders in 2022: 2,00,000
Despite garnering a large user base, its profitability didn’t improve. It consumed most of the expenses of Swiggy.
2. Failed Restructuring Process
Swiggy invested over $100 million in the restructuring process of Supr Daily. It was a strategic move for the food-delivery giant. It planned to streamline the operations and allocate resources more efficiently.
The Supr Daily registered a gross merchandise value of Rs.165.9 crore in the second quarter of 2021. Also, in April 2021, Swiggy Supr Daily launched three new categories apart from groceries.
Those new categories were-
- Home and Cleaning
- Personal Care
- Wellness and Health
All these new verticals spiked the number of subscriptions. It contributed Rs.30 lakh to the revenue stream of Swiggy.
It seems like a piece of optimistic news. Isn’t it? But there is a completely different scenario if you compare the revenue with the entire financial data of the company.
The amount of revenue earned was much lesser than the amount spent on the expenses. As a result, the restructuring process failed to produce profits. Rather it led to the humongous loss of the company.
3. Cost-cutting Process
Well, this is the outcome of the previous two factors. Since Swiggy Supr Daily didn’t yield profits rather it sucked a huge chunk of the company’s money. So the best way for cost-cutting was to shut down the operations.
Not only had the parent company (Swiggy) ended up spending a significant amount of time and money in managing the business. But also, it diverted the attention of Swiggy from its primary goal i.e. to earn from the food delivery business.
Thus, the closure of Swiggy Supr Daily was important for the cost-cutting process.
4. Overlapping with Swiggy Instamart
Swiggy Supr Daily was already fading away in the eyes of the company due to heavy losses. Swiggy Instamart was the last nail in the coffin for Supr Daily. Why? You may ask. As you know, the arrival of the new subsidiary in the same vertical causes overlapping operations. The same case occurred when Instamart clashed with Supr Daily.
In August 2020, Swiggy launched its instant grocery delivery service called Swiggy Instamart. It proved to be highly successful and heavily contributed to the profit and revenue of Swiggy.
The instant grocery delivery service enticed the customers more as compared to the morning e-grocery. Also, with the Swiggy One membership (Rs.149 for 3 months) you get free delivery on Instamart. But it is applicable only for orders above Rs.199.
As a result, instead of subscribing to Swiggy Supr Daily, the customers preferred Swiggy Instamart. Not only did it lead to a steep decline in subscribers but also dipped its revenue.
Conclusion
Swiggy Supr Daily was a subscription-based service offered by Swiggy in India. It provided daily groceries to people in the early morning. Initially, it sounded interesting and profitable for Swiggy.
But the ground reality was completely opposite!
Swiggy has to pour a lot of money into the morning e-grocery subscription service. Yet. It failed to yield desirable profits. Gradually, due to heavy losses and the reasons described above, Swiggy shuts down Supr Daily.
Future of Swiggy Supr Daily
You may ponder that since Swiggy shuts down Supr Daily, it might have ceased its operations. Thankfully, it still exists! But with a different name. It was rebranded as “InsanelyGood.” This rebranded vertical will operate in the grocery space. However, it is currently a pilot program in Bengaluru.
If it proves to be sustainable enough, then it will be launched again. Let’s see what happens next!
