E-commerce giant Amazon has launched its own food retailing business in India and the company started testing the market with a pilot project in Pune. With the new venture, Amazon has also become the first foreign e-commerce company to stock and sell food items directly to customers in India.
The food products are being sold by Amazon Retail India Pvt. Ltd. Amazon is now a vendor on Amazon.in and is currently operating in Pune, The Economic Times reported.
The government gave green signal to the Amazon to invest $500 million in a wholly-owned venture, to sell local products and packaged food items through online and offline channels.
The company will soon kick-start its food retailing business across India. It will take at least a quarter for the e-commerce major to roll out its food retailing business nationwide, Economic Times reported quoting sources.
In an attempt to increase employment opportunities and provide help to the producers, the Indian government had allowed 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in food-only retailing.
In February 2017, Amazon sought the government nod to invest $500 million in a food-only retailing venture. It is the only global organization to have applied for the food-only retailing segment.
In July 2017, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) gave a go-ahead to the company.
While clearing the company's proposal, the government had asked Amazon to keep separate management and offices for their food-retailing business.
BigBasket and Grofers which are into online grocery space also received the green signal from the government for food retailing.
Amazon.in on Monday said that it has crossed the 3-lakh seller base in less than five years of the company's operations in India, reports PTI.
