Zepto’s quick‑commerce food platform, Zepto Café, has reduced operations significantly following a 50% drop in daily order volume—plunging from a peak of 120,000–130,000 orders/day in early 2025 to just 65,000–67,000/day in May–June. The service also shut down café operations at 44 locations as part of the strategic pullback
🔍 4 Drivers Behind the Slowdown
1️⃣ Supply chain and staffing hurdles
Zepto struggled with sourcing key ingredients and retaining skilled kitchen staff—challenges that disrupted kitchen operations and service consistency
2️⃣ Market competition heats up
Rivals like Blinkit’s Bistro and Swiggy’s Snacc have expanded aggressively in the 10‑minute food delivery space, intensifying the battle for customer loyalty and kitchen bandwidth
3️⃣ Cutting cash burn
Faced with rising operational burn and supply issues, Zepto also slowed new café openings and dark‑store expansion to better manage costs and maintain unit economics
4️⃣ Dropping app engagement
Downloads of the standalone Café app fell sharply—from 1.5 million in December 2024 to just 17,000 in June, reflecting waning user interest despite core orders still being driven via the main Zepto app
🔭 What to Watch Next
- Reopen timeline: Zepto anticipates restoring operations at affected cafés by the end of Q3 FY26, once sourcing and staff issues are resolved
- Operational revamp: The company is working to revamp kitchen processes, team strength, and supply routing before relaunched expansion.
- Quick‑commerce focus: While café is scaled back, Zepto remains bullish on its broader fast‑commerce engine—dark stores, grocery deliveries, and tech-enabled logistics.
✅ Bottom Line
Aged café volumes dropped by 50%, causing Zepto to scale back operations while tackling supply, staffing, and cost challenges. With competitors gaining ground and app engagement plummeting, Zepto’s cautious retrenchment aims to stabilize the business before a renewed growth push.
