A resident of Gurgaon, Harsh Upadhyay, took to social media to express his astonishment at the price of coriander on the quick-commerce platform Zepto. He shared a screenshot showing the herb priced at ₹ 131 per 100 grams, even after a 22% discount, sparking a social media backlash.
Users compared prices with Zepto’s rival, Blinkit, which recently began offering coriander for free with some vegetable orders. “It’s ₹ 40 on Blinkit,” one person noted, highlighting the stark price difference. Others pointed out that local vegetable sellers often give coriander for free, further emphasizing the disparity in pricing.
The outrage extended beyond price comparisons, with many users questioning the convenience premium charged by such platforms. “But this is the same funda as Zomato … one pays for the convenience of not going out and dragged through a manhole in the monsoon.. all Zomato prices are higher than the restaurant menu.. am I missing anything?” one user questioned, highlighting the potential trade-off between convenience and cost.
“Urging you all to pick up basics outside of these apps. Daylight robbery in the name of convenience,” another user countered, echoing the sentiment of many who feel that these platforms are exploiting the convenience factor to inflate prices.
Zepto, which promises to deliver anything from groceries to cosmetics within 10 minutes, recently announced it had raised $665 million in a pre-IPO round at a valuation of $3.6 billion. The company, which is gearing up for a public-market listing next year, had achieved unicorn status just nine months earlier after raising $200 million at a valuation of $1.4 billion.
The controversy over the coriander pricing raises questions about the sustainability of such business models and the balance between convenience and affordability in the quick-commerce space.
