Every morning, Raj, the owner of a bustling café in Mumbai, meticulously plans his day, ensuring that he is fully rationed to serve his customers. However, no matter how well he plays, it is always difficult to tide through the day without supply-side hiccups.

For a long time, Raj has juggled multiple suppliers, negotiated costs, and dealt with the unpredictability of India’s unorganised food supply chain. With fluctuating prices, delayed deliveries and vendor reliability issues, running a restaurant is a constant battle with procurement.

This was precisely what Zomato sought to change when it launched Hyperpure in August 2018. The idea was simple — provide kitchen supplies and a more organised supply chain solution to the hotels, restaurants & caterers (HoReCa) industry.

The B2B restaurant supply chain vertical empowers restaurants to source everything from fresh produce to meat and dairy from farmers and suppliers. Per Hyperpure’s LinkedIn page, it now serves 100 cities across India, delivering over 4,000 products to 40,000 partners.

But, there was enough white space then and there is enough now. For one, Zomato is the only organised player in this segment in India, which leaves enough scope for experiments, changes, pivots, expansions and innovation.

This is probably what Swiggy, too, must have thought before floating the Assure app in September last year. With Assure, Swiggy wants to revolutionise the “procurement process for HoReCa customers” — at least that’s what the Assure app claims.

Now, before we dive right into understanding what Assure brings to the table, let’s first talk about the potential peeves of Hyperpure users, eventually transitioning to where Assure fits in the B2B supply-side equation.

Hyperpure’s Blind Spots

While Zomato’s Hyperpure has made significant inroads into the restaurant supply chain, it still leaves enough room for further optimisation in pricing, logistics, and product variety.

For one, even after seven years, Hyperpure has not been able to scale its operations across diverse restaurant formats. According to the restaurateurs Inc42 spoke with, Hyperpure doesn’t fully meet the needs of large chains with multiple locations or smaller regional restaurants struggling with supply chain inefficiencies.

Besides, Zomato’s Hyperpure operates on a cash-and-carry model. “This means that restaurants are forced to settle dues directly from their earnings. While the model helps Zomato manage dues efficiently, it can be financially restrictive for larger chains that prefer more flexible credit options or structured payment terms,” a restaurant owner said, requesting anonymity.

Then, restaurateurs feel that sourcing through Hyperpure exposes them to fluctuating raw material prices. The absence of fixed-price contracts also impacts their long-term cost planning.

While........

© Inc42