From quick commerce for hot meals to innovative local products, this year’s 30 Under 30 Asia: Retail & Ecommerce entrepreneurs are tapping into opportunities driven by shifting consumer demands across the region.

Three former colleagues from a cryptocurrency startup that had cratered got together over sandwiches and coffee at a Bangalore café in April 2024 to brainstorm ideas for a new venture. When their order took too long to arrive, they realised they had just stumbled on it. The trio, Aniket Shah, Ujjwal Sukheja and Saran S., invested $32,000 of their savings to set up Swish, an app that delivers freshly prepared food in 10 minutes. After hiring four chefs and setting up an automated kitchen for speedy cooking, they kicked off the service in July. A month later, California-based VC firm Accel provided $2 million in seed money for their fledgling startup.

Riding India's explosive quick-commerce wave, the cofounders of Swish are among the entrepreneurs featured on this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia: Retail & Ecommerce list.

Swish has since built a network of kitchens, each servicing a 1 km radius in some of the tech city’s dense neighborhoods. It offers a menu of 200 items, including Indian, Mexican and Italian fare. Orders quadrupled to 20,000 a day in the six months to March, says CEO Shah, who claims some kitchens are already profitable. So far, Swish has raised $54 million, including $38 million in a Series B round in March led by U.S.-based Bain Capital Ventures and London-headquartered Hara Global Capital that valued it at $139 million. Proceeds will be used to expand into other cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai. The founders say the future of food delivery........

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