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LocalBanya has brought a variety of cheeses from abroad. Other foreign brands have been launched under confectionery and packaged foods. According to Amit Bhartiya of LocalBanya, about a tenth of total revenue comes from the international portfolio and this grows at 25 per cent monthly.
Pragya Singh of Technopak consultants said, "The increasing poverty of time in urban India is driving the need to save time and effort on routine activities. Grocery being a largely standardised category, it is making many consumers go online. This also presents an opportunity to tap niche or imported products, since consumers do not have easy access to such products and, hence, there is a higher propensity to buy online."
Ekstop has launched Thai food specialities and Italian food ingredients such as Cirio chopped tomatoes. From 1,100 imported food & non-food brands, Ekstop plans to raise the number to 3,000 in the next six months. “In the backdrop of a boom in F&B (food & beverages) space, consumers have exposure to Thai, continental foods. They keep cooking all varieties of foreign dishes at home, causing a high demand for foreign food ingredients, packaged and frozen foods," said co-founder & chief executive Sumat Chopra. He feels about five per cent of Ekstop customers are into shopping of imported foods, which they launched only three to four months earlier.
BigBasket has plans to expand its exotic fruits basket. Hari Menon, founder, said: "We are expanding exotic fruits and vegetables from Europe. such as lemon varieties. We are in the process of expanding our cold-room facilities, as well as last-mile cold chains." BigBasket received Rs 200-crore funding from private equity investors last week. "We see high demand for packaged imported foods and cheeses among the expatriate community in cities like Bangalore, where a lot of foreign information technology executives live," said Menon.
The number of products at BigBasket will grow to 18,000 in 12 months, of which 15-20 per cent would be imported. BigBasket will expand into 10 more Indian cities in the next one year.
Non-food items such as deodorants, perfumes and kitchen appliances are also being added into imported product baskets.
According to Technopak’s 2013 report, food & grocery holds 69 per cent of the $490-billion Indian retail sector. However, the online players have been unable to tap the market well so far.
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