Wit will always be our connective tissue with users: Zepto’s Chandan Mendiratta

You’ve already won the 10-minute delivery narrative. Are you building a utility or an emotional brand?

It’s both. While we want to be part of consumers’ daily routines, we’re focused on injecting joy into that utility. Every festive occasion—even our birthday—gets its own themed campaign with curated Zepto Boxes. What started with Zepto Turns Three has expanded to Diwali, Holi and more. The organic content people post unboxing these boxes shows that we’re building an emotional layer. Quick commerce began with “emergency convenience" but now we’re adding affordability, turning it from a one-off use case into habit-forming behaviour.

What’s the emotional anchor beyond convenience?

We realised there wasn’t one. So we introduced affordability as a lever, via initiatives like Super Saver. Beyond that, we’ve started working on “emotional search" on the app. If you search ‘Monday’, you’ll find Monday Blues products. Type ‘PMS’, and you’ll land on a curated page designed by women at Zepto. It’s personal, contextual and adds delight. These are now also monetisable: we recently launched a “Burger Day" page with Amul, Britannia and Hellmann’s co-sponsoring the entire experience.

You’ve done over 70 films in six months. What’s the creative filter?

Everything is conceptualized in-house. The Akshay Kumar and Jr. NTR campaign was written internally. The goal always is earned media. We want people to share because they felt something. That’s why even our music compositions, like the Valentine’s Day track, went viral and are now on Spotify. Every campaign needs to evoke emotion or relatability. If people don’t see themselves or someone they know in a story, they won’t share it.

Why no creative agency? Isn’t this rare for a large brand?

We take selfish pride in being among the very few large players doing 100% creative in-house. Zomato does some in-house; Dream11 has a partner agency. We have a 40-member internal team spread across Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. This gives us scale and agility. For instance, our Whisper ad, a sensitive and powerful film, was executed entirely in-house. We wrote the script, did the music and handled post. That consistency of tone is hard to outsource.

What’s your long-term brand voice? Gen Z and cheeky, or will it mature?

We’ll always be witty. Our brand archetype combines a creator with a hint of jester. Think Akshay Kumar, he’s evolved but still retains that cheekiness we all love. As we grow, we’ll gain maturity, but wit will always be our connective tissue with users.

You mentioned monetizing the experience layer with Atom. How does it help brand partners?

Atom gives brands data down to a dark store and pin-code level. You can spot where the funnel is broken: assortment, availability, or demand, and run campaigns to fix it. It’s not just a dashboard. It enables real-time, hyperlocal ad execution. And yes, it’s a revenue stream for us, but it also gives partners better ROI visibility.

How many cities are live today?

We’re currently in 70+ cities. Dark stores range from 2,500 to 4,000 sq. ft., and most now include kitchens for Zepto Café. We’re taking a breather post-2024’s massive city expansion to optimize operations before scaling further.

Do you track classic brand metrics like awareness?

Yes, we run brand health trackers quarterly—top-of-mind, aided recall, unaided recall. These are third-party, panel-based surveys. They help us assess messaging resonance and calibrate our next campaigns.

How far can the brand stretch? Is “everything in 10 minutes" the new positioning?

Absolutely. We started with groceries, but now offer toys, jewellery, smartphones, even Apple products, everything except MacBooks, for now. As long as the category is logistics-compatible and tech-led, we’ll explore it. Our moat is the tech and supply chain—four temperature zones, mother hubs, dark stores—all built for India. That’s why it works here, even when it hasn’t in the West.

In three years, what should people feel about Zepto?

That “I’m a Zepto person." They don’t need to have a reason. It’s emotional brand equity, built on execution and storytelling. If we can spark joy or belonging in a 10-minute delivery, we’ve done our job.