A startup redefining intra-city logistics for perishables

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Every year, nearly 70 million tonnes of food is wasted in India. This is largely because the cold supply chain for perishables is inadequate and broken. While large brands like Starbucks and KFCs of India have well-organised logistics services, smaller businesses do not. This area is extremely unorganised, with all kinds of vehicles, from vans to scooters, being used in the delivery of food cartons. In order to be able to save costs, hygiene is sacrificed, and jugaad logistical practices are employed.

Many small and medium-sized food and beverage businesses require assistance with everyday food logistics. In the absence of such services, they are not able to replenish stock often, as they are unable to service sales outlets frequently enough in a day. (How often have you noticed that the pastry in a bakery is stale by evening because the manufacturer delivers it only once in the morning?)

With the growth of cloud kitchens, artisanal brands, and an explosion of retail points (like modern trade stores, dark stores, and DC hubs), the need for efficient intra-city logistics for perishables is even more accentuated.

That’s where Just Deliveries (JD) comes in. JD is a startup focused on intra-city logistics for perishables. By offering a shared cold logistics service, JD is able to help brands put fresher stock of perishable items on store shelves and food-service outlets.

Just Deliveries aggregates service providers like delivery vans and ensures compliance with SLAs like temperature control, hygiene, cleanliness, punctuality, etc. Moreover, JD optimises capacity utilisation by sharing the van with several brands. As a result, JD is able to offer cost-effective, efficient, and timely service to brands. The tech platform and app provide visibility to all stakeholders and synchronise processes amongst them.

“At Just Deliveries, our goal is to assist brand owners with the cumbersome logistics process, allowing them to focus their energy entirely on scaling their geographical presence and core business,’’ said Mansi Mahansaria, Founder, Just Deliveries.

Supply Chain Labs is excited to support Just Deliveries in providing last-mile inter-city logistics for perishables. By providing more efficient and more frequent milk runs, it allows brands of perishable products to service retail outlets more frequently, thus helping keep fresher stock on shelves.

“Services like JD not only prevent food wastage but also directly impact the profitability of brands of perishable goods through lower returns of expired products and increased sales points. Can a brand selling paneer, for example, deliver fresh stock to 500 retailers every day by itself? By taking care of the entire logistics piece, JD is also enabling more individuals to become food entrepreneurs and enabling existing food entrepreneurs to expand much faster than they would otherwise be able to do on their own.

It is also a very large market. According to Redseer, food services is a $65 billion market opportunity in India, growing at 9% per annum and likely to reach $110 billion by 2025. Within the food services market of $65 billion, online delivery accounts for a market size of $4.2 billion, growing at 6–7%,” Prajakt Raut, Managing Partner, Supply Chain Labs.