More in Store: foodpanda’s dark stores promise convenient grocery and quick commerce

Consumers turned to e-commerce for their needs due to the physical restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This saw the rise of online retail in the country and today, the sector continues to grow as more prefer its convenience and accessibility.

With this came the emergence of “dark stores” which are generally warehouses used to store products and items that will cater specifically to online grocery shopping. Dark stores have changed the landscape of grocery shopping and retail commerce, and there’s more in store.

Leading the dark stores in Asia-Pacific and the Philippines is pandamart, powered by online quick-commerce platform foodpanda. Karan Bhaskar, foodpanda’s Director of New Verticals, shared that they were the first to introduce the business model of a dark store in the Philippines.

Karan Bhaskar – Director of New Verticals, foodpanda Philippines

“When we first brought pandamart to the Philippines in 2020, we changed the rules of e-grocery shopping in the country. Two years later, we continue to be a leader in the industry as the biggest online grocery shopping platform with more than 40 warehouses all over the country,” Bhaskar stated.

According to Bhaskar, the difference of pandamart from other online grocery shopping stores is that it has control over the entire ecosystem. He added that they have their own warehouses where they curate, store, and pick inventory. In addition, the grocery platform is theirs and they do the delivery themselves. Since they have a real-time overview of the stock-keeping units (SKUs) in warehouses, customers can see the actual inventory, and it makes the deliveries quicker and more efficient.

Image source: foodpanda

“We are committed to bringing much loved grocery products closer to our Filipino consumers and solidify our position as the biggest grocery delivery service in the country. That’s why aside from major cities in the Metro [Manila], we have also expanded the areas where our warehouses are located to include Baguio in Luzon, as well as Cebu and Davao in Visayas and Mindanao,” Bhaskar shared.

Serving as a one-stop shop for all food and essential needs, pandamart continues to dominate the grocery delivery scene with over 5,000+ daily essentials. It can be accessed through the foodpanda app under the “pandamart” tab. Online shoppers can browse through the available items and products. Afterwards, a designated person or “pickers” will get the items selected. The order will then be received by the assigned Ka-Panda rider and delivered to the customer’s doorstep in as fast as 25 minutes.

Image source: foodpanda

pandamart currently houses hundreds of brands ranging from big names in the industry to small and medium enterprises. Some of their partners include leading brands from various fast-moving consumer goods companies and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), enabling them to provide shoppers a variety of choices. MSMEs also gained more exposure through the app.

Bhaskar took note of the growing demand for safe and convenient access to groceries saying, “We now get 5x as many customers compared to when we started back in October of 2020. What’s also noteworthy is that even with the easing of restrictions, consumers continue to believe in the benefits of groceries being delivered in the safety and convenience of their homes.”

L-R) Aya Yamaminami – Head of Ecommerce Reckitt, Karan Bhaskar – Director of New Verticals, foodpanda Philippines, Drew Arellano – Pandamart Brand Ambassador, Rey Lee – President of Hightower

With the rise of ecommerce and steady growth of pandamart, foodpanda is looking at expanding to include more warehouses in other areas and locations across the country, as well as onboard more partners, especially MSMEs. foodpanda is committed to continue working towards improving its efforts to make online grocery-shopping a sustainable and rewarding experience for its consumers in the coming months.

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Chris Layugan