India unites to fight the uninvited enemy; the 1.38 billion population has left no stone unturned to fight this battle. While we all, at an individual level, are putting our best foot forward, a lot is happening in the startup ecosystem as well. Startups are relentlessly ideating to continuously provide us with services at our doorsteps without compromising the health of their customers or their executives. 

Some startups that have been the quickest to respond to Covid-19 have been the ones from the food delivery sector.

The food and grocery market in India is the sixth-largest in the world. Further, it constitutes almost 65% of the total retail market in India.  The communicable virus puts the individuals engaging with any player in this sector at very high risk. To mitigate this vulnerability, food delivery startups have been quick to tweak their normal ways of operating in order to make the whole process of food delivery safer for their employees and you, the end-customers.

From imparting advisory and awareness about hygiene standards to incorporating additional features to their business models, they have been proactively doing their bit. Startups such as Zomato, Swiggy, and Box8 have been training and ensuring that their delivery executives follow the safety and health guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs, such as wearing a mask, washing their hands frequently, sanitizing regularly, and identifying symptoms early. 

Contactless Delivery: To safeguard the end consumers and the delivery executives, the startups have added an additional feature of contactless delivery, which will help in reducing the spread of the virus by incorporating social distancing in the delivery mechanism itself. 

This is done by customers opting for ‘contactless delivery’ option on the mobile application. Under this option, the delivery executive will leave the food package on a clean surface outside their door, click a photo of that and send it to them. Thereafter, the delivery executive leaves and the customer can safely pick up their order package without either having to meet each other, hence averting the risk of the virus spreading through human contact. Additionally, while a customer chooses their mode of payment, the startups are also putting disclaimers against cash on delivery and encouraging digital payments. 

Financial Assistance: Apart from looking out for the safety of the community and taking precautionary measures, the food delivery startups are supporting their delivery fleet with financial assistance above their medical insurance if they get infected with the virus and encouraging them to maintain proper quarantine. 

The startup ecosystem today is truly responding to the dynamic markets and actively providing for its community. A shoutout to all such food delivery startups which have walked the extra mile for our safety without compromising our needs.