Zepto launches 10-min medicine delivery in Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru and Hyderabad

Quick commerce player Zepto has launched Zepto Pharmacy, a 10-minute medicine delivery service, in select areas of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Hyderabad.

According to Zepto, it has spent the past 12 months running the service on a small scale to fine-tune customer experience, supply chain, and compliance processes.

"Our objective is to keep operational standards extremely high and not scale too rapidly given the complexity of this category,” said Aadit Palicha, CEO and co-founder of Zepto.

The quick commerce unicorn joins the ranks of its rivals offering similar services. While over-the-counter drugs have been available on these platforms for some time, companies are now expanding into prescription drugs, which come with their own set of regulatory hurdles, including the requirement of a valid doctor's prescription.

Last month, Blinkit began piloting prescription medicine delivery in select Bengaluru pin codes, offering treatments for respiratory, heart, eye and ear conditions, neurocare, and antibiotics.

The platform also introduced free doctor consultations for customers unable to upload prescriptions for certain drugs. Orders are fulfilled by licensed pharmacies and transported in tamper-proof packaging.

Blinkit’s entry followed Swiggy’s partnership with PharmEasy under a shop-in-shop model, enabling the sale of prescription medicines through Swiggy’s dark stores and app interface.