Days after stepping down as chief executive of Tata Digital-backed BigBasket, co-founder Hari Menon has reflected on his journey, admitting that he initially underestimated the impact of quick commerce, particularly the rising demand for 10-minute grocery delivery services.
In a farewell LinkedIn post dated June 26, Menon said the shift toward rapid delivery had forced BigBasket to rethink its business model entirely.
Menon described quick commerce as the biggest disruption the company has faced in its 14-year history.
He acknowledged that he was initially in denial about the concept, believing that most consumers would not want groceries delivered within 10 minutes.
However, he noted that customer behaviour quickly proved otherwise, as users readily adopted the ultra-fast delivery model once it was introduced.
His remarks come shortly after he stepped down as CEO, with former Amazon executive Amit Nanda taking over leadership of the company.
Despite stepping aside from daily operations, Menon and co-founder Vipul Parekh will continue to serve on BigBasket’s board.
Reflecting on BigBasket’s early foundation, Menon said the company was built around four key operating principles: maintaining high order fill rates, ensuring on-time deliveries, keeping product availability above 95 percent, and delivering strong customer satisfaction.
He noted that the company had no existing blueprint for achieving these standards but focused on these fundamentals as its core priorities.
By 2014, BigBasket had expanded from Bengaluru into cities like Mumbai and Hyderabad before scaling nationwide.
The company later strengthened its brand presence by onboarding actor Shah Rukh Khan as its ambassador during its growth phase.
However, the competitive landscape changed significantly with the emergence of quick commerce players.
Companies such as Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart rapidly transformed consumer expectations, pushing BigBasket to pivot aggressively toward 10-minute delivery services.
Today, BigBasket operates more than 900 dark stores across over 60 cities, marking a major transformation from its original scheduled delivery model.
Menon said this evolution has made the company “unrecognisable from where we started, in the best possible way.”
He expressed confidence in the company’s future under new CEO Amit Nanda, praising his consumer insight and leadership approach.
While stepping back from operations, Menon said he would continue to remain involved in an advisory capacity, supporting and mentoring the team as BigBasket enters its next phase of growth.
Founded in 2011, BigBasket was among India’s earliest online grocery platforms and continues to be a major player in the fast-growing quick commerce market.
