Saurabh Kumar steps down as Grofers co-founder, stays on company board

Cites personal ambitions for decision, says he wants to wander again

After rolling out e-grocery platform Grofers along with co-founder Albinder Dhindsa eight years ago, Saurabh Kumar has decided to call it a day. In an email sent to Grofers employees. Kumar said he’s leaving the company for personal ambitions.

“I have been reflecting on my personal life and personal ambitions for some time. And my decision to step away is the outcome of that. I want to wander again,” he wrote.

While Kumar will not be involved in day-to-day responsibilities at Grofers, he will continue to be a board member and a shareholder at the company. According to reports, he holds over 3 per cent stake in the company, which is currently valued around $644 million.

“I know SK has been pulling the weight on most of our sprints, but I also know he's a marathon runner, and this time to go far, he must go alone. I am fully supportive of his decision. And wherever that may lead him on his journey,” wrote Dhindsa in a farewell blog penned for Kumar. “This is the end of an era for Grofers.”

Currently present in more than 40 cities, Grofers has seen a consistent increase in demand since mid February after the onset of the second wave of COvid-19 pandemic. There has been a 25 per cent increase in average ticket size, which is now Rs 2,000 with frozen foods, personal care products and health supplements seeing over 200 per cent rise in demand.

According to a retail report of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, e-grocery space is expected to grow over 59 per cent CAGR to $18 billion by 2024. India has 154 million online transacting households in 2020, with 130 million already using e-grocery platforms or willing to try, said the report.

Owing to a surge in demand, the Gurugram-based startup has already hired over 2,000 people across 30 cities, and to build additional capacity, plan to add over 7,000 more people across our supply chain and last mile operations. The SoftBank-based startup had plans to go for an IPO until early this year. However, it has scrapped the plan and is in talks with food tech unicorn Zomato for a $100 million investment to fuel the next phase of growth, according to reports.