Quick commerce startup Zepto has officially stepped into the online pharmacy segment with the launch of Zepto Pharmacy, a new service that promises to deliver essential medicines to customers in just 10 minutes. This expansion moves Zepto beyond its established instant grocery delivery model and into the competitive world of e-pharmacy services.
The service is currently live in select parts of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Hyderabad. Zepto Pharmacy will cater to both prescription medicines and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, giving customers faster access to essential healthcare products without visiting a physical pharmacy.
Zepto’s move comes shortly after Blinkit introduced its own prescription medicine delivery service in specific parts of the country last week. Earlier this year, Blinkit also rolled out a 10-minute ambulance service in Gurugram, focusing on emergency response through a fleet of Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances bookable via its app.
While Blinkit’s medical initiatives target emergency situations, Zepto’s entry focuses on convenient access to prescription and OTC medicines, putting it in direct competition with established e-pharmacy leaders such as Tata 1mg, PharmEasy, and Apollo 24/7, as well as other quick commerce players experimenting in the healthcare segment.
According to Aadit Palicha, co-founder and CEO of Zepto, the launch of Zepto Pharmacy is the result of over 12 months of preparation to address the logistical and regulatory challenges in the pharmaceutical delivery sector.
“Over the past 12 months, the team has worked tirelessly to perfect the customer experience, supply chain, and compliance at a small scale,” Palicha stated in a LinkedIn post announcing the launch.
This preparation involved ensuring compliance with stringent medical regulations, refining prescription verification systems, and setting up temperature-controlled logistics to maintain medicine safety and quality.
Palicha highlighted that Zepto will prioritize operational excellence over aggressive scaling.
“Our objective is to keep operational standards extremely high and not scale too rapidly given the complexity of this category,” he explained.
The e-pharmacy business requires careful handling, as it involves regulatory checks, medicine storage protocols, and timely delivery to ensure customer trust. By focusing on delivering a flawless service in limited areas first, Zepto aims to establish credibility before expanding nationwide.
Founded in 2021, Zepto has quickly become a major player in the quick commerce industry, delivering over 25,000 products within 10 minutes through its dark store network in densely populated urban areas.
Recently, the company rebranded its parent entity from Kiranakart Technologies Pvt Ltd to Zepto Pvt Ltd. Industry experts see this as part of a brand consolidation strategy ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO) in the near future.
Palicha expressed confidence in the potential of Zepto Pharmacy to transform healthcare accessibility in India.
“If we execute well, we believe this service can seriously improve the lives of millions of customers across the country and help make important medicines easier to access when we need them the most,” he said.
By combining fast delivery, regulated processes, and digital convenience, Zepto aims to become a trusted platform for both grocery and healthcare essentials in India.