Bolt Food, an online platform for ordering and delivering food, has reportedly chosen to discontinue its operations in the Nigerian market.
Having initiated operations in Nigeria in 2021, the food delivery enterprise has announced its departure from the country, citing strategic considerations.
In its statement, the company said, “At this time, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue our food delivery operations in Nigeria due to business reasons.
“The decision to exit this market is necessary to streamline our resources and maximise our overall efficiency as a company.”
As per the report, the company is set to close its food delivery operations in the area by December 7, 2023.
This decision is in line with the company’s endeavors to optimize its resources and enhance overall efficiency.
Since its inception in 2021, Bolt Food has collaborated with over 10,000 restaurants in Nigeria and has successfully delivered more than one million meals.
It is reported to have enlisted 23,000 agents and 12,000 merchants.
The company entered the Nigerian market when the demand for food delivery services surged due to the pandemic.
When the company first launched in the country, it competed with business rivals such as Jumia Food and Gokada.
Later, the food delivery platform expanded its reach into other places in the country, including Ajah, Sangotedo, Festac, Satellite Town, Egbeda and Ogba.
Bolt currently offers food delivery services in 16 countries and 33 cities worldwide.
France-based poultry giant LDC is currently in advanced discussions to purchase Indykpol, a prominent turkey producer located in Poland.
The negotiations involve the French firm and Rolmex, the owner of Indykpol, who made an investment in the Polish turkey company back in 1991.
Indykpol possesses over 16 hectares of farmland in northern Poland, encompassing a hatchery, a feed factory, and a processing plant.
LDC reported that Indykpol achieved a turnover of €228 million ($244 million) in 2022, with over 60% of the sales taking place in the domestic market.
In a statement, LDC wrote, “In line with LDC’s international expansion strategy, this new acquisition would consolidate an already solid presence of the LDC group via its subsidiaries of the Drosed group on the poultry market in Poland, making it possible to enrich the range with raw products, charcuterie and processed turkey products.”
Having entered the Polish market in 2000 through the acquisition of Drosed, a local poultry brand, LDC disclosed in its 2022 annual report that it currently owns 13 plants in Poland. Among these, six are designated for prepared poultry, while the remaining seven are dedicated to the “upstream business.”
The Indykpol Group employs more than 1,000 people. The company’s shares were publicly traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange until June 2020.
The completion of the deal is anticipated in the first half of 2024, contingent upon receiving approval for the merger.
Last month, LDC announced discussions regarding the acquisition of Les Délices de Saint Léonard from the Agromousquetaires Group.
Established in 1968 through the consolidation of the Lambert, Dodard, and Chancereul families, LDC is renowned for its brands, including Loué, Le Gaulois, Maître Coq, Poule et Toque, Marie, and Nature & Respect.
Presently, the agri-food group operates 93 sites and 14 platforms, boasting a workforce exceeding 25,000 employees and achieving a turnover of €5.8 billion.
E-commerce order quantities surged by around 37% during the 2023 festive season sale in comparison to the previous year, as per the analysis conducted by the SaaS platform Unicommerce.
The SaaS platform provided by the company facilitates comprehensive management of e-commerce operations for marketplaces, brands, sellers, and logistics service providers.
An analysis of orders processed through Unicommerce’s platform reveals that, in addition to the substantial growth in order volumes, the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) also witnessed an increase of 22% during the same festive period.
The prosperity of the festive season sale can partially be credited to enticing discounts on online marketplaces and robust advertising campaigns. These factors have contributed to an impressive year-on-year (YoY) growth of 39% in order volumes for marketplaces. Conversely, brand websites have also seen a robust increase, reporting a 23% growth in e-commerce order volumes.
There was an inverse trend in the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), with brand websites showing a 29% year-on-year (YoY) growth, while marketplaces reported a 21% YoY GMV growth.
Based on the analysis, the fashion and accessories segment, along with beauty and personal care, emerged as the two predominant categories in terms of order volumes. These segments exhibited consistent growth in both volume and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) during the festive month.
FMCG and home decor categories have asserted themselves as formidable players in the ecommerce arena.
According to the orders processed through Unicommerce’s platforms, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand secured the top two positions in terms of growth in order volumes, with Haryana in the third position, Uttar Pradesh in the fourth, and Meghalaya in the fifth spot.
Moreover, there was an uptick in prepaid orders this year, witnessing a surge of over 45% compared to the previous year. In contrast, Cash-on-Delivery (COD) orders experienced a 20% growth during the same period.
“The festive season determines the growing scale of ecommerce in India. As industry sectors continue to embrace the country’s ecommerce ecosystem, shoppers from across India’s length and breadth are willingly opting for online shopping. We ensure that our technology is easily accessible and deployable for sellers considering the fundamental complexities of the Indian market,” said Kapil Makhija, CEO Unicommerce.
On Friday, the online gifting platform IGP revealed its expansion into the Dubai market, anticipating a revenue of USD 10 million (INR 80 crore) within the initial 1.5 years, as per the company’s statement on Friday.
The company asserts an annual revenue of USD 40 million, equivalent to approximately INR 320 crore.
“I am thrilled to announce our foray into the vibrant market of UAE. With an investment of USD 10 million and a dedicated team of over 100 professionals, we are set to transform gifting experiences in the region,” IGP Founder and CEO, Tarun Joshi said in a statement.
“IGP is a global brand, our goal is to become the ultimate destination for flowers, cakes, and gifts, enriching the lives of millions in the UAE and, in the long term, across the entire Middle East,” he said.
The company has set up a warehouse of over 20,000 sq ft in Dubai.
Joshi said he expects to generate revenue of USD 10 million in Dubai over a period of 18 months.
On Friday, Blinkit, the rapid-commerce division of Zomato, a leading food delivery platform, announced a notable increase in the sales of gold and silver coins, as well as other products related to Dhanteras festivities.
On Dhanteras, quick-commerce platforms like Swiggy Instamart and Zepto were also offering gold and silver coins for sale, aligning with the auspicious tradition of purchasing items made of gold, silver, and brass.
“Dhanteras muhurat (auspicious time) hasn’t even started and we’re already close to hitting half of the gold and silver coins sales from last year,” Albinder Dhindsa, chief executive of Blinkit, wrote in a post on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter) before 12 in the afternoon. “Thankfully, we took a big bet and have enough to serve the high demand.”
Dhanteras, also known as Dhanatrayodashi, is the first day of the Diwali festival in various regions of India.
In addition to coins, there has been an increase in the buying of brooms, a practice deemed auspicious on this day.
“We learned that it is auspicious to buy jhadu (brooms) today when brooms got stocked out at all our dark stores on Dhanteras 2 years ago,” Dhindsa tweeted later, with a graph showing the increase in sales of brooms as compared to last Friday.
According to Dhindsa, fresh flowers and leaves were another category experiencing high sales for Blinkit.
“Most sold within the category are lotus flowers and pooja leaves which are used for Lakshmi Pooja on Dhanteras,” he posted on X.
Items deemed auspicious to purchase on Dhanteras, like steel utensils and home electronics, were also in high demand on rapid-commerce platforms.
Blinkit has been promoting its 10-minute deliveries for Dhanteras sales, a tradition it upholds each year. As per a post by Dhindsa, on October 22 last year, the platform achieved a rate of selling 200 coins per minute.
Blinkit has been actively promoting high-volume seasonal items, including significant purchases throughout the year, coinciding with events such as cricket matches, festivals, New Year’s Eve, and even on iPhone launch days.
For the quarter ending in September, Blinkit disclosed a positive contribution margin, calculated as revenue minus various costs like store operation expenses, delivery costs, wastage, and packaging costs. This marked the first time it achieved this milestone, while the parent company Zomato sustained profitability for the second consecutive quarter. The contribution margin, expressed as a percentage of the gross order value, stood at 1.3% in the most recent quarter, a notable improvement from the -7.3% recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, with the quarterly contribution amounting to INR 36 crore.
On November 3, it was reported that Blinkit experienced an increase in its average order value, reaching INR 607 compared to INR 568 a year ago. The quick-commerce division saw a substantial rise in gross order value, reaching INR 2,760 crore from INR 1,482 crore recorded a year earlier.
While India’s whiskies are leading in taste evaluations, their global exports have not seen significant growth, hindered by various factors, including strong domestic demand.
In FY23, the value of whisky exports was just 10% higher than a decade ago, while imports during this period surged nearly four times. Notably, whisky exports recorded an 18% increase in the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period a year ago.
During October, the domestically produced Indri Diwali Collector’s Edition secured the Best in Show Double Gold award at the Whiskies of the World Awards. Nevertheless, authorities have indicated that India has not fully capitalized on the opportunities presented by this accolade and the esteemed recognition received by other brands like Amrut Distilleries’ Fusion and Paul John’s Brilliance, Bold, and Nirvana.
“Indian whisky is not much in demand outside, and domestic demand is robust, so the export opportunity hasn’t been exploited to the fullest,” said an official.
In the fiscal year 2023, India’s whisky exports stood at $124 million, marking a modest 10% increase from the $112.4 million recorded in FY14. However, these figures remained below the $127.8 million exported during the pandemic period.
Conversely, there has been a notable increase in imports.
In FY23, India’s whisky imports reached $396.3 million, marking a substantial increase from the $108.7 million recorded in FY14.
Blended whiskies held the largest market share at 40%, followed by other whiskies with a 29% share. Scotch claimed a 20% share, with bourbon holding a marginal slice.
The primary sources of imports are the UK, Singapore, and the UAE.
Growth may also be hindered by stringent requirements imposed by Western nations, according to experts.
“India’s export opportunity is limited to a certain set of countries in the Middle East, Africa and the Far East. Maturation conditions imposed by a large part of the European Union are inherent limitations to our exports,” said Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) director general Vinod Giri.
In warm climates such as India, the maturation requirement, which stipulates a three-year aging period for whisky, is often shortened due to high evaporation losses.
Giri mentioned that there is a demand for relatively lower-value Indian rum and whisky in these countries. While single malt and high-end products are sold at a comparable price range of $50-60 per case, akin to Scotch whisky, lower-value products are marketed at $10-20 per case, as he pointed out.
Indian blended whiskies are priced between INR 750-1,700 per 750 ml, whereas imported counterparts range from INR 1,400-3,000. For malt whiskies, both Scotch and Indian variants share a pricing bracket of INR 3,630-4,500.
“Japanese whisky brands are also being preferred by Indian consumers and many independent importers are entering the market,” Giri added.
Representatives from the industry have indicated that growth is also being impeded by local factors.
They mentioned that some states impose a fee on the export of alcoholic beverages. Additionally, India’s exports to the EU and UK face non-tariff barriers. One notable obstacle is the stipulation of grain-based spirit, a requirement Indian companies cannot meet as the liquor here is produced from molasses due to the high sugar production, they clarified.
Building on its achievements in Mumbai and Pune, Nonna’s, India’s original sourdough pizzeria, has now unveiled its fourth outlet nestled within the corridors of Jio World Plaza, BKC, Mumbai.
The interiors of Nonna’s effortlessly fuse modern elegance with the timeless charm of Italian design, crafting an immersive experience. The menu showcases the opulence of Neapolitan flavors, offering a diverse selection ranging from their signature handcrafted sourdough pizzas with over nine varieties to a curated assortment of appetizers, Pannouzzos, beverages, and delightful desserts.
Ayush Jatia, Founder of Nonna’s said, “With the launch of our newest outlet at Jio World Plaza, we aim to redefine the boundaries of an authentic Italian dining experience, creating a space where every visitor is not just a guest but a cherished part of our family. We invite you to join us in this celebration of flavours, where every dish tells a story and every moment is an unforgettable experience.”
As the festival of lights approaches, kindlife, the go-to platform for conscious living, unveils a lineup of special initiatives that redefine the Diwali shopping experience. From sustainable snacking to eco-conscious beauty routines, and from community engagement to cutting-edge technology, the brand is set to make this Diwali a celebration of kindness, health, and innovation.
This Diwali, kindlife is putting a spotlight on sustainable and toxin-free products, aligning with the growing demand for healthier snacking options. The focus is on low-calorie, artificial sweetener-free, preservative-free, baked (not fried), and affordable products without compromising taste or nutritional value. The brand has curated gift boxes featuring Makhanas, organic cookies, and vegan chocolates from emerging brands, offering a modern alternative to traditional Indian sweets.
Adding a global touch, kindlife introduces viral Korean beauty brands, catering to diverse Indian skin concerns and preferences. Kahi, Skin1004, Elizavecca, and DermaB promise cutting-edge skincare solutions to enhance the festive beauty routine.
The Kindlife Way: Plant-Based, Organic, Toxin-Free, and Eco-Conscious
Kindlife lives by a simple mantra: If it’s kind, it’s on kindlife. The brand ensures that its Diwali offerings adhere to ‘kindcodes’ – plant-based, organic, toxin-free, eco-conscious, and cruelty-free. With a commitment to delivering quality products, kindlife’s stringent review process is transparent for customers to explore. The brand stands against toxins, trash, and trolls, aligning its values with those seeking a cleaner, kinder, and healthier lifestyle.
With a thriving community of over 400,000 members and 2000+ experts, kindlife empowers its customers with valuable tips and insights. Regularly sharing content on platforms like Instagram, the brand focuses on raising awareness about healthy choices, harmful ingredients, and skincare and food routines. For Diwali, a special collection of content offers a fresh perspective on traditional recipes, incorporating healthier ingredients.
Kindlife’s AI-powered discovery tool, kiki.ai, assists customers in making informed choices by offering personalized content and expert advice based on unique preferences and needs.
Loyalty Rewarded: Superkind Club and Festive VIP Membership
During Diwali, kindlife’s loyalty program, the Superkind Club, takes center stage. Exclusive perks, including early access to sales, cashbacks, and birthday bonuses, are designed to elevate the customer experience. Frequent app shoppers enjoy custom offers tailored to their preferences, and high spenders receive vouchers from like-minded sustainable brands.
The introduction of a limited edition ‘FESTIVE VIP’ membership for just INR 99 allows customers to experience all the benefits of the Superkind Club for an entire month, enhancing their shopping journey during the festive season.
For those looking to experience the kindlife brand for the first time during Diwali, exciting offers await. First-time shoppers on the app enjoy an additional 15% off on bestsellers, including organic food, supplements, skincare, and makeup products. Registering on the app not only unlocks discounts but also provides personalized recommendations and access to app-only sales.
Tech-Savvy Diwali: Personalized Recommendations with kiki.ai
Kindlife leverages technology to ensure a seamless transition to a better lifestyle. The expert and AI-powered discovery tool, kiki.ai, play a pivotal role in offering consumers verified information, personalized recommendations, and insights around ingredients, routines, and individual needs. This innovation enhances the online shopping experience, making it fully customized and user-friendly.
As Diwali beckons, Kindlife shines as a beacon of sustainability, wellness, and thoughtful indulgence. The brand’s commitment to a cleaner and kinder lifestyle resonates through its offerings, inviting consumers to celebrate the festival with not just lights, but with a mindful glow that emanates from the heart of every conscious choice.
The technological prowess of a brand is generally correlated with its growth potential in the digital age. Maintaining an advantage and navigating the competitive landscape now heavily depends on the strategic selection and development of a tech stack. The method of developing the ideal technologies to drive a brand towards sustainable success is revealed as we dive into the complexities of tech-stack advancement in this extensive investigation.
The set of resources—tools, frameworks, programming languages, and software—that underpin the digital infrastructure of your company is known as the tech stack. The canvas on which advancements are painted is this basis. Determine the features of the technology you now use to create a baseline for future development.
1. Understanding the Foundation: Defining Your Tech Stack
Before embarking on the journey of advancement, it’s essential to understand the core components of your current tech stack. The tech stack is the collection of tools, frameworks, programming languages, and software solutions that power your brand’s digital infrastructure. This foundation serves as the canvas upon which advancements are painted. Identify your existing technologies and their functionalities to establish a baseline for growth.
2. Assessing Business Goals: Aligning Technology with Objectives
Tech-stack advancement isn’t a one-size-fits-all endeavor. It must align with the unique goals and objectives of your brand. Whether the focus is on improving customer experience, enhancing operational efficiency, or scaling infrastructure to accommodate growth, a strategic tech-stack roadmap should be tailored to meet specific business needs. This alignment ensures that technological investments contribute directly to the brand’s overarching success.
3. Scalability and Flexibility: Future-Proofing Your Tech Stack
A growth-oriented tech stack must be built with scalability and flexibility in mind. As your brand expands, so should your technological infrastructure. Choose solutions that can seamlessly grow with your business, accommodating increased data volumes, user traffic, and evolving functionalities. A flexible tech stack allows for easy adaptation to emerging technologies and market trends, future-proofing your brand against technological obsolescence.
In the digital era, customer experience is a key differentiator. Tech-stack advancement should prioritize tools and technologies that enhance the user journey. From responsive web design to personalized content delivery, leveraging technologies that prioritize user experience not only fosters customer satisfaction but also contributes to brand loyalty and advocacy.
5. Integration and Interoperability: BreakingSilos for Efficiency
A well-advanced tech stack seamlessly integrates various components, breaking down silos between departments and functions. Integration and interoperability are critical for efficient data flow and communication across the organization. Whether it’s connecting CRM and marketing automation tools or integrating e-commerce platforms with inventory management systems, a cohesive tech stack fosters operational efficiency.
6. Data Security: Fortifying Your Digital Fortress
With the increasing reliance on digital platforms comes the imperative of safeguarding sensitive data. Tech-stack advancement should include robust cybersecurity measures to protect against evolving threats. From encryption protocols to secure API connections, investing in state-of-the-art security technologies is not just a compliance requirement but a fundamental aspect of building trust with users.
7. Analytics and Data-driven Insights: Guiding Strategic Decisions
A growth-focused tech stack harnesses the power of analytics and data-driven insights. Implementing tools for comprehensive data collection, analysis, and reporting enables your brand to make informed decisions. From understanding customer behavior to optimizing marketing strategies, data-driven insights derived from your tech stack empower your brand to navigate the competitive landscape strategically.
8. Cloud Infrastructure: Empowering Scalability and Accessibility
Cloud computing has revolutionized the way businesses manage their IT infrastructure. Advancing your tech stack with cloud solutions provides scalability, accessibility, and cost-efficiency. Whether opting for public, private, or hybrid cloud models, the cloud enhances the agility of your brand’s tech infrastructure, allowing for rapid deployment of applications and services.
9. AI and Automation: Elevating Operational Efficiency
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technologies is a hallmark of tech-stack advancement. From chatbots enhancing customer support to machine learning algorithms optimizing marketing campaigns, AI and automation elevate operational efficiency, reduce manual workloads, and contribute to a more agile and responsive brand.
10. Continuous Monitoring and Optimization: Iterating for Excellence
The advancement of your tech stack is not a one-time endeavor but a continuous cycle of monitoring, analysis, and optimization. Implement tools for performance monitoring, conduct regular audits, and gather user feedback to identify areas for improvement. This iterative approach ensures that your tech stack remains aligned with business goals and evolves in tandem with market dynamics.
Forging a Path of Technological Excellence
In the digital age, a brand’s tech stack is the engine that propels it toward growth, innovation, and sustainability. Tech-stack advancement is not merely a checklist of tools; it’s a strategic journey that aligns technology with business objectives, prioritizes user experience, embraces scalability, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.
As you embark on the path of building the right technologies for your brand’s growth, remember that the journey is as crucial as the destination. With the right tech-stack blueprint, your brand can navigate the complexities of the digital landscape, adapt to emerging trends, and forge a path of technological excellence that defines the future of your industry.
The proverb “innovate or stagnate” has never been more relevant given the dynamic nature of the economic world. Embracing and responding to market trends is a strategic need for brands that strive for sustained growth, not just survival. We set out on a voyage across the shifting tides of consumer trends in this investigation, revealing how innovation gives brands a boost and helps them achieve long-term success. Before diving into the innovation pool, brands must first comprehend the pulse of market trends. These trends, shaped by consumer behaviors, technological advancements, and global shifts, act as powerful indicators of where the market is headed. Whether it’s the rise of e-commerce, the emphasis on sustainability, or the adoption of emerging technologies, staying attuned to these trends is the compass that guides brands toward growth.
Consumer behavior is a dynamic force that propels market trends. Successful brands understand that consumer needs and expectations are ever-changing. By adopting a consumer-centric approach to innovation, brands can not only meet current demands but also anticipate future preferences. From personalized experiences to sustainable practices, aligning innovation with consumer expectations is the cornerstone of sustainable growth.
Agility in Adaptation: Responding to Real-Time Changes
The pace at which market trends evolve necessitates a culture of agility within a brand. Being quick to adapt to real-time changes is a hallmark of successful innovators. This agility allows brands to pivot strategies, tweak products or services, and seize emerging opportunities swiftly. A brand’s ability to navigate the ebb and flow of market trends positions it not as a passive observer but as an active participant in shaping the industry landscape.
Apart from that, in the digital era, technology is both a driver and an enabler of market trends. Brands that harness the power of technological innovation position themselves as pioneers. Whether it’s integrating artificial intelligence into customer service or leveraging data analytics for personalized marketing, technology-driven innovation is a powerful engine for sustainable brand growth.
Further, brands that innovate with a commitment to environmental and social responsibility not only align with consumer values but also future-proof their operations. Sustainable practices are no longer a choice but a prerequisite for brands aiming for long-term relevance.
Collaboration and Co-Creation: Breaking Silos for Innovation
Innovation doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Collaborative efforts, both within the organization and through external partnerships, foster a culture of co-creation. Brands that break down silos, encourage cross-functional collaboration, and engage with external stakeholders in the innovation process open themselves up to diverse perspectives and ideas, fueling sustained growth. Embracing innovation requires an acceptance of risk and a willingness to learn from failure. Brands that foster a culture where calculated risks are encouraged, and failures are viewed as learning opportunities, cultivate an innovation mindset. This mindset not only fuels continuous improvement but also instills resilience in the face of challenges.
The era of one-size-fits-all marketing is long gone. Personalization, driven by data-driven insights, is a market trend that continues to gain prominence. Brands that invest in creating tailored, memorable customer experiences set themselves apart. From personalized recommendations to customized communication, putting the customer at the center of innovation enhances brand loyalty and fuels growth. Brands that establish systems for monitoring trends, gathering real-time feedback, and iterating on their offerings are better equipped to stay ahead. This iterative approach ensures that innovation becomes ingrained in the brand’s DNA, driving sustained growth over the long term.
Innovation Imperative for Brand Survival:
Innovate or stagnate—it’s a mantra that reverberates through the halls of successful brands. Embracing market trends is not a choice but a necessity for sustainable brand growth. The journey involves understanding the market pulse, aligning with consumer expectations, leveraging technology, embracing sustainability, fostering a culture of collaboration, and maintaining an unwavering commitment to continuous improvement.
In the dynamic dance of market trends, brands that innovate stand not only to survive but to thrive, carving out a legacy of enduring success. As we navigate the future, it’s clear that the brands that dare to innovate are the ones that shape the narrative of their industries, leaving an indelible mark on the ever-evolving canvas of business.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
