VOKKA and Zepto show how quick commerce is becoming a launchpad for occasion-led gifting. New Delhi [India], September 9: Raksha Bandhan became more than a seasonal sales opportunity for fragrance and personal care brand VOKKA and quick-commerce platform Zepto. The two companies worked together to develop an occasion-specific gifting proposition, demonstrating how quick commerce can increasingly become a platform for product co-creation, discovery and rapid festive launches, rather than simply a last-mile delivery channel. The collaboration combined VOKKA's rapid product-development capabilities with Zepto's platform reach and marketing visibility to create and scale occasion-specific fragrance gift sets across cities during the festive period. Instead of placing existing products into festive packaging, VOKKA and Zepto worked on dedicated Raksha Bandhan gift sets built specifically around the occasion. The collaboration resulted in two festive formats featuring VOKKA Aqua and Thai Aqua perfumes paired with Rakhis, designed to make fragrance gifting convenient and immediately accessible during the festival. A significant part of the collaboration was the speed at which the concept moved from idea to market. VOKKA designed, sourced and shipped the festive inventory to Zepto's warehouses in under a month, allowing the platform sellers to take the proposition to consumers while festive demand was building. As the festive assortment was replicated across different cities in India, Zepto's platform presence and marketing visibility helped VOKKA take an occasion-specific product beyond a limited launch and make it discoverable to consumers across multiple markets during the Raksha Bandhan shopping window. The collaboration reflects an evolving relationship between consumer brands and quick-commerce platforms. Rather than brands developing products independently and platforms functioning primarily as distribution channels, the VOKKA-Zepto approach brought together category understanding, platform visibility, rapid product development and distribution execution around a specific consumer occasion. The response also demonstrated the potential of this model. Vokka's business on Zepto grew multifold from launch through the Raksha Bandhan period. For VOKKA, the development cycle also represented a different approach to festive merchandising. Product concepts, packaging, sourcing and inventory had to be aligned with a relatively short festival window, requiring the brand to move considerably faster than a conventional product-development calendar. Sonam Khurana, Founder & CEO, VOKKA, said, "Quick commerce becomes much more interesting when the brand and the platform are not working in isolation. With Zepto, the opportunity was to build something specifically around the occasion rather than simply place an existing product on the platform. Their ability to give the range visibility and scale it across cities, combined with our ability to move rapidly from concept to finished inventory, made the collaboration work." She added, "Festive commerce is extremely time-sensitive. A good idea has limited value if it reaches the consumer after the moment has passed. What this experience showed us is that when the platform and the brand work closely together, product development, merchandising, visibility and distribution can move almost simultaneously. We believe that opens up interesting possibilities for occasion-led products beyond Raksha Bandhan." The Raksha Bandhan initiative also points towards a broader opportunity for quick-commerce platforms to participate earlier in the product lifecycle. Category insights and consumer discovery on the platform can potentially help brands develop products specifically for festivals, gifting occasions and emerging consumption moments, while brands capable of shorter development cycles can respond to those opportunities more quickly. For VOKKA, the partnership provides a framework that can potentially be extended to other festive and occasion-led launches, with co-creation, rapid execution and platform-led discovery forming the core of the approach. About VOKKA Founded in 2024 by Sonam Khurana and Sachith Sudarshan, VOKKA is an Indian fragrance and personal care brand headquartered in Noida. Its portfolio spans perfumes, deodorants, body lotions, discovery packs, gift sets and fragrance combinations. The company has manufacturing and assembly operations in Greater Noida and Bhiwadi and distributes its products across e-commerce and quick-commerce channels in India. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.) Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content First Published: Sep 10 2026 | 12:40 AM IST

Zepto to set up five Pragati Centres for gig workers in Hyderabad. Zepto will set up five Pragati Centres across Hyderabad to provide gig workers with resting spaces and essential facilities. The centres will offer drinking water, washrooms, first aid, charging points and WiFi, besides health camps and e-Shram registration awareness Published Date - 9 September 2026, 06:28 PM Discover more Entertainment news feed Business news insights Hyderabad city guide Hyderabad: Telangana Zepto will set up five Pragati Centres creating dedicated spaces where gig workers across platforms can rest and access essential facilities during the working day. Geographic Reference Each centre will provide safe, all-weather resting space, clean drinking water, clean washroom access, first-aid support, mobile charging points and WiFi connectivity. The centres will also host periodic health camps and facilitate awareness around e-Shram registration for eligible gig and unorganised workers, according to a press release. The initiative seeks to address gaps in basic urban infrastructure for workers who spend much of their day on the road. The Pragati Centres will be open to gig workers across platforms, including workers in quick commerce, food delivery, e-commerce, apparel and other last-mile delivery networks. Depending on the locations jointly identified by the Government and Zepto, each centre could see hundreds of worker visits. Vikas Sharma, Chief Operating Officer, Zepto, and Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary, MA&UD, on Wednesday, signed a MoU on establishing these five centres across Hyderabad. Discover more Legislative Branch Health news updates * Follow Us:

E-Grocery startup Satvacart shuts down after 12 years. Gurugram's Satvacart shuts down after 12 years as an early e-grocery player, unable to scale against quick commerce rivals. Gurugram-based e-grocery startup Satvacart has shut down after 12 years of operations. August 28 was its last day with the team subsequently disbanded, founder Rahul H. Saxena said in a LinkedIn post. Founded in 2014, Satvacart was among India's early online grocery players, starting with milk subscriptions in Gurugram before moving to an inventory-led grocery delivery model through micro-clusters and independent warehouses. It raised seed funding from Palaash Ventures and angel investors in 2015. Unlike competitors pursuing aggressive expansion, Satvacart focused on measured growth and Saxena said it was among the early online grocery players to demonstrate profitability, in 2019. The shutdown follows several difficult years during which the company explored funding, strategic investment, and acquisition options. According to Saxena, capital came largely in smaller tranches, insufficient to rebuild and scale the business. Satvacart held discussions with two larger investors for significant funding and with multiple players on acquisition, but none of these materialized. The grocery market has since shifted toward quick commerce, with players like Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart competing on delivery speed and dark-store density, while Amazon and Flipkart have entered the segment with Amazon Now and Flipkart Minutes. Satvacart's smaller scale made it harder to attract institutional investors and strategic buyers in this environment. "We continued pushing till the very end and explored every realistic funding, strategic investment and acquisition option available to us," said Rahul H. Saxena, Founder, Satvacart. "I genuinely believe I gave Satvacart the very best effort I was capable of." Submit your email address to receive the latest updates on news & host of opportunities Eveready and Zepto launch India's first quick-commerce battery recycling initiative. Eveready Industries India Ltd., the country's leading battery and flashlight brand, announced its partnership with Zepto to launch India's first doorstep household battery collection and recycling initiative. The programme aims to make the disposal of used household batteries easier and more convenient for millions of users across India by integrating battery collection into routine doorstep deliveries. This partnership brings together India's No. 1 battery brand and quick commerce company - Zepto - with a shared vision of promoting responsible consumption and advancing a circular economy. Through the 'Batteries for Better' initiative, Eveready and Zepto aim to make battery disposal more accessible while encouraging households to adopt more sustainable waste disposal practices. As part of this innovative collection model, users ordering on Zepto will have the option to select a "Return Battery" feature at checkout post which they can hand over their used household batteries to Zepto delivery partners at the time of order delivery. The collected batteries will be sent to Eveready for responsible recycling and disposal through authorised channels in compliance with applicable environmental regulations and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines. The initiative will be rolled out across Delhi and Bengaluru, leveraging Zepto's extensive last-mile delivery network to build a convenient battery collection ecosystem for users. Eveready and Zepto intend to progressively expand the programme to additional cities across India, making responsible battery disposal accessible to a wider consumer base. Speaking on the launch of the initiative, Mr. Anirban Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer, Eveready Industries India Ltd., said: "We are delighted to collaborate with Zepto on this pioneering initiative that transforms everyday deliveries into opportunities for responsible environmental action. Through this programme, Eveready aims to drive greater consumer awareness around responsible battery disposal while helping strengthen circular economy practices in India. As a leader in the country's battery industry, we remain committed to creating meaningful impact through sustainable innovation and responsible stewardship of our products throughout their lifecycle." To encourage participation, users who contribute used batteries for recycling will receive a certificate recognising their contribution towards responsible waste management. In addition, they will also be eligible for special benefits on subsequent purchases of Eveready batteries through the Zepto platform. Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Devendra Meel, Chief Business Officer, Zepto, said: "The biggest barrier to responsible disposal is not intent, it is convenience. Most households have used batteries lying in drawers because there has never been a simple, everyday way to return them. With this partnership, we are using Zepto's last-mile network to turn regular orders into battery take-back moments. We thank our seller partners for enabling this. Even at a modest scale, every million household batteries collected can help divert several tonnes of battery waste from mixed garbage streams into authorised recycling. That is the opportunity here, using quick commerce not only for access, but to build habit-level infrastructure for more responsible consumption." The partnership further reinforces Eveready's commitment to sustainability, innovation and responsible manufacturing, while strengthening its leadership in environmental stewardship and Extended Producer Responsibility compliance.