Swiggy shuts premium grocery delivery service 'Handpicked' in Bengaluru

Swiggy has decided to shut its premium grocery delivery pilot Handpicked, according to a report by The Economic Times (ET).

Through Handpicked, Swiggy used to sell a selection of premium, gourmet, imported, and hard-to-get grocery items.

A Swiggy spokesperson, while confirming the development to ET, said that the company is constantly experimenting with new propositions in line with its vision to provide consumers with convenience.

"Handpicked was being piloted in a few zones in Bengaluru, and we have had several positive learnings from it,” the spokesperson added.

On the other hand, Swiggy will continue to sell groceries through Instamart and Insanely Good.

The development comes at a time when the Bengaluru-based company is trying to expand into grocery delivery and e-commerce businesses while also dealing with newer challenges.

It recently debuted an ecommerce vertical Maxx, which includes categories such as home, stationary, and pet care, among others. Swiggy had earlier renamed and repurposed its essential delivery service Supr Daily to Insanely Good.

The company uses the same backend infrastructure and operations for all of its grocery services.

Swiggy has also been cutting costs across the board, laying off about 380 employees and shutting down its meat delivery business this year.

The company has also witnessed a churn in its top leadership. Karthik Gurumurthy, who oversees the company's quick-commerce division will step aside and cofounder Phani Kishan is expected to replace him. Chief technology officer Dale Vaz is also leaving the company.