--- title: "Quicklly: How a South Asian Marketplace Grew" description: "Quicklly sprang from a simple origin story: two South Asian entrepreneurs in Chicago saw an underserved community’s pain and built a marketplace to fix…" canonical: https://www.ordering.co/blog/quicklly-south-asian-marketplaces-show-how-niche-wins-big/ --- # Quicklly: South Asian Marketplaces Show How Niche Wins Big Quicklly sprang from a simple origin story: two South Asian entrepreneurs in Chicago saw an underserved community’s pain and built a marketplace to fix… 9 min read· Business Intelligence / Marketing and Loyalty / Online Ordering / Growth Quicklly sprang from a simple **origin story**: two South Asian entrepreneurs in Chicago saw an underserved community’s pain and built a marketplace to fix it. Founded in 2017 (launched 2018) by Keval Raj and Hanish Pahwa, Quicklly set out to solve the diaspora’s food-shopping and dining woes [finsmes.com ](https://www.finsmes.com/2022/07/quicklly-raises-4m-in-seed-funding.html#:~:text=Founded%20in%202017%20by%20Keval,the%C2%A0San%20Francisco%20Bay%20Area%C2%A0and%20nationwide)[openpr.com](https://www.openpr.com/news/3670794/founders-of-quicklly-bring-indian-flavors-on-america-s-diverse#:~:text=,he%20added). As co-founder Keval Raj put it, “the demand for authentic and hyper-local regional flavors… has never been more palpable,” so Quicklly partners with “the country’s best Indian restaurants to bring the rich culinary heritage of India closer to millions of Americans” [openpr.com](https://www.openpr.com/news/3670794/founders-of-quicklly-bring-indian-flavors-on-america-s-diverse#:~:text=,he%20added). In other words, Quicklly isn’t just a grocery app – it’s a bridge to the foods, sweets, and spices that second-gen families and expats crave. The founders combined community insight with tech know-how (and a dash of bold Hormozi-style hustle) to craft a **_white‑labeled, mobile-friendly marketplace_.** Entrepreneurs can instantly replicate this model using Ordering.co – a turnkey engine offering fast-launch tools, branded storefronts and smart dispatching, so new niche marketplaces can hit the ground running. ## Growth Journey ![Article image for Quicklly: South Asian Marketplaces Show How Niche Wins Big](https://www.ordering.co/_astro/blog/70828669daaa533e-1024w.webp) Quicklly’s growth has been relentless. After the Chicago launch (2018) it swept to Silicon Valley (Bay Area, 2020) and then the East Coast (New York/New Jersey, 2021) [grocerydive.com](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/south-asian-food-marketplace-quicklly-unveils-membership-program/618369/#:~:text=Since%20its%20founding%20in%202017%2C,and%20rolled%20out%20nationwide%20offerings). Along the way it rolled out nationwide shipping of groceries and meals. Strategic partnerships supercharged this reach: Quicklly became the **first** Indian/South Asian marketplace on Instacart and later linked into Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub[ newswire.com](https://www.newswire.com/news/quicklly-changes-the-online-indian-grocery-landscape-the-first-to-22529999#:~:text=Quicklly%20has%20partnered%20with%20Doordash%2C,S) [andnowuknow.com](https://www.andnowuknow.com/bloom/instacart-partners-quicklly-e-commerce-strategy-india-Elise-Metzger-Keval-Raj-Hanish-Pahwa/lilian-diep/79989#:~:text=,and%20better%20serve%20their%20customers). Every new integration unlocked thousands of customers – quick, same-day delivery of biryanis, tiffins and spices on demand. Today Quicklly has 300+ stores onboard nationwide and has processed **hundreds of thousands** of orders, backed by \~$5.3M in funding. For example, a 2022 seed round raised $4M (led by tech investors) to fuel more expansion [finsmes.com](https://www.finsmes.com/2022/07/quicklly-raises-4m-in-seed-funding.html#:~:text=Image%3A%20Quicklly). Notably, a partnership with Visa in 2024 even added a **real-time cross-border payment** feature, acknowledging that serving the diaspora means more than groceries – it means remittances too [newswire.com](https://www.newswire.com/news/quicklly-and-visa-join-forces-to-deliver-next-gen-cross-border-payment-22293853#:~:text=CHICAGO%2C%20April%2030%2C%202024%20%28Newswire,time%5E%7B1%7D%20capabilities). Throughout this journey, Quicklly embraced technology and collaboration to scale fast – strategies any niche marketplace can borrow. And with Ordering.co’s multi-store marketplace tech (white-label branding, real-time dispatch, multi-channel integrations) entrepreneurs can similarly launch wide-reaching delivery services in months, not years. ## Product Offering Quicklly’s menu is **deep and culturally curated** – groceries, ready-made meals, sweets and even lifestyle goods. It calls itself “the nation’s most comprehensive, one‑stop marketplace” for all things Indian/South Asian [openpr.com](https://www.openpr.com/news/3670794/founders-of-quicklly-bring-indian-flavors-on-america-s-diverse#:~:text=Quicklly%2C%20the%20nation%27s%20largest%20marketplace,growing%20demand%20for%20ethnic%20cuisines). On the site and app, you’ll find 10,000+ products: from everyday spices and lentils to fresh halal meats and specialty items. It offers _tiffin service_ (home‑style cooked meals and snacks) alongside _meal kits_ (DIY roti, chai and thali kits) [quicklly.com](https://www.quicklly.com/about-quicklly?srsltid=AfmBOopoXel9wyuHsYVRsRaySXHhtrl0ac9TTboS0baprOXP3gWTV778#:~:text=Indian%20Meal%20Kit%20,for%20authentic%20Indian%20beverages). It carries _grocery boxes_ (organic produce baskets, bulk staples) and _snack boxes_ (sweets, dried fruits, ready-to-cook curries) available by subscription. And of course, no Desi marketplace is complete without mithai and cultural treats – everything from jalebi and gulab jamun to mango pulp and chai masala [openpr.com](https://www.openpr.com/news/3670794/founders-of-quicklly-bring-indian-flavors-on-america-s-diverse#:~:text=Quicklly%2C%20the%20nation%27s%20largest%20marketplace,growing%20demand%20for%20ethnic%20cuisines). All these categories target hyper-specific tastes: Punjabi pickles and South Indian spices, Bollywood collectibles and even puja (prayer) items. The depth is intentional: Quicklly’s users get **exactly** what they remember from home. A loyal customer once said, “With Quicklly we have everything on one app – from groceries to restaurant meals – just like back in India” [openpr.com](https://www.openpr.com/news/3670794/founders-of-quicklly-bring-indian-flavors-on-america-s-diverse#:~:text=Quicklly%2C%20the%20nation%27s%20largest%20marketplace,growing%20demand%20for%20ethnic%20cuisines) [quicklly.com](https://www.quicklly.com/about-quicklly?srsltid=AfmBOopoXel9wyuHsYVRsRaySXHhtrl0ac9TTboS0baprOXP3gWTV778#:~:text=Quicklly%20provides%20a%20complete%20digital,Jersey%2C%20New%20York%20and%20nationwide). For tech founders, this means your marketplace platform must handle diverse catalogs. Luckily Ordering.co supports multi-category catalogs, carousels and bilingual labels out of the box, so you can launch with all these product lines pre-integrated. ## Technology & Experience Behind the scenes, Quicklly runs on smart engineering and UX that feels local. It built a clean mobile/web app interface and offered multi-lingual support (English plus Hindi/Tamil/etc) so non-English speakers can navigate easily. Smart routing and multi-store carting are core: the platform lets customers add items from multiple local stores in one order, automatically optimizing which shop ships which items and when. Quicklly’s tech also includes store onboarding tools and analytics so family-run grocers can list products without fuss. (As one analyst notes, onboard­ing 300 stores and keeping inventories synced is _hard_ – Quicklly essentially became their IT department.) Their approach is **app‑agnostic**: for a grocer it’s one contract to access DoorDash/Instacart/Uber via Quicklly’s integration layer [newswire.com](https://www.newswire.com/news/quicklly-changes-the-online-indian-grocery-landscape-the-first-to-22529999#:~:text=Quicklly%20has%20partnered%20with%20Doordash%2C,S). As Pritesh Velankar (Quicklly COO) explained, “contract negotiations, technology integrations, inventory onboarding…and handling logistics across multiple platforms can be extremely overwhelming. Quicklly takes all these complexities away” [newswire.com](https://www.newswire.com/news/quicklly-changes-the-online-indian-grocery-landscape-the-first-to-22529999#:~:text=,focus%20on%20their%20retail%20stores). This ease is a huge USP. Ordering.co delivers similar tech foundations: white‑labeled mobile apps, API‑driven dispatch algorithms, realtime tracking and loyalty widgets. In short, you get the same _behind-the-scenes magic_ Quicklly built, without writing a line of code. ![Article image for Quicklly: South Asian Marketplaces Show How Niche Wins Big](https://www.ordering.co/_astro/blog/a230ac3788b08ce1-1024w.webp) Quicklly’s app UX emphasizes simplicity: clear category menus, product images of familiar brands, and suggested meals. It also integrates customer engagement tools (like the “Quicklly Pass” subscription dashboard for deals [grocerydive.com](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/south-asian-food-marketplace-quicklly-unveils-membership-program/618369/#:~:text=,order%20minimum%20and%20packaging%20fee)) and loyalty gamification. All of this keeps users clicking _Order_. Tech‐savvy entrepreneurs will appreciate that Ordering.co already offers fast‑dispatch algorithms and multi-store fulfillment routing by default. In practice, this means you can promise the same seamless “order from anywhere” experience that Quicklly customers expect – but built on a SaaS platform. ## User Base Quicklly’s community is diverse but focused. Its core customers are Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi (and broader South Asian) expats hungry for home flavors. Many are young second‑gen families using the app to connect kids with their heritage (“Which 8-year-old won’t click on the word ‘curry’?”). Yet interestingly, Quicklly also saw _global foodies_ show up: after the Instacart tie-up, thousands of non-Desi Americans tried Indian food for the first time [grocerydive.com](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/south-asian-food-marketplace-quicklly-links-with-home-chef-platform/626335/#:~:text=Right%20after%20the%20Instacart%20tie,base%20for%20meals%2C%20Raj%20said). One grocery operator noted Quicklly “underestimated” how many Americans would buy samosas and spices when given easy access [grocerydive.com](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/south-asian-food-marketplace-quicklly-links-with-home-chef-platform/626335/#:~:text=Right%20after%20the%20Instacart%20tie,base%20for%20meals%2C%20Raj%20said). In short, Quicklly meets hyper-specific cultural needs (regional breads, fresh chai, festival sweets) for diasporas, _and_ it introduces these delicacies to a wider audience. This double-appeal is a strength: you own the niche but can cross-sell broadly. Cultural curation – knowing that a Gujarati Diwali platter belongs next to Punjabi sarson da saag – is what keeps South Asian customers loyal. Generic apps can’t match that depth. As Quicklly marketing boasted, they’re helping “preserve Indian grocery stores as cultural hubs within their communities” [newswire.com](https://www.newswire.com/news/quicklly-changes-the-online-indian-grocery-landscape-the-first-to-22529999#:~:text=Quicklly%27s%20impact%20extends%20beyond%20just,ingredients%20gain%20widespread%20availability%20and). For entrepreneurs, that spells opportunity: pick a community, nail its culture, and build a tailored UX (Ordering.co supports multi-language menus and culturally relevant payment options) to win that segment. ![Article image for Quicklly: South Asian Marketplaces Show How Niche Wins Big](https://www.ordering.co/_astro/blog/0fb9d8f1ce06cc59-1024w.webp) Quicklly’s success map mirrors diaspora density: Chicago, New York/NJ, the Bay Area, Texas and Seattle – all major South Asian hubs [newswire.com](https://www.newswire.com/news/quicklly-changes-the-online-indian-grocery-landscape-the-first-to-22529999#:~:text=tiffins%2C%20and%20fully%20prepared%20restaurant,com). It first launched where the community was largest, then strategically expanded. And Quicklly’s marketing reflects its audience – using Bollywood events, cricket game sponsor­ships and regional festivals to engage users. Their store onboarding even involves cultural training, so staff know how to explain exotic ingredients to new customers. The lesson for market-builders: serve a passionate group better than anyone. If you’re aiming at a niche (whether vegan African cuisine or local farm boxes), mirror Quicklly by figuring out exactly _what matters_ to your community – then let tech like Ordering.co handle the translations into UX, notifications and loyalty programs that speak to those passions. ## Business Model Quicklly runs a classic **marketplace model** with multiple revenue streams. Its core is commission from each sale: local grocers and restaurants pay a percentage for access to Quicklly’s customers. But it layers on modern e‑commerce tactics. It offers subscription plans (the “Quicklly Pass”) giving members free delivery and extra coupons [grocerydive.com](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/south-asian-food-marketplace-quicklly-unveils-membership-program/618369/#:~:text=,order%20minimum%20and%20packaging%20fee). It sells a subscription snack/meal box (e.g. an organic grocery bundle or sweets box) on a monthly basis [grocerydive.com](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/south-asian-food-marketplace-quicklly-unveils-membership-program/618369/#:~:text=Last%20year%2C%20the%20company%20launched,boxes%2C%20catering%20and%20restaurant%20food). And it even launched a social affiliate program: “brand ambassadors” can earn commissions for promoting Quicklly items on social media [grocerydive.com](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/south-asian-food-marketplace-quicklly-links-with-home-chef-platform/626335/#:~:text=,with%20a%20unique%20referral%20code). In effect Quicklly monetizes both sides of the marketplace: merchants pay for visibility and fulfillment, while power users pay for premium perks or become mini-marketers. This echoes Hormozi’s playbook of _multiple income streams_. A niche marketplace built on Ordering.co can replicate all of this: Ordering.co has built-in support for commissions plus premium subscriptions and promotional campaigns. You could, for example, easily enable referral codes and membership fees via its dashboard. The advantage? Quicklly’s model proves that hybrid revenue (commissions + subscriptions + ads/affiliates) can make a delivery marketplace profitable. ![Article image for Quicklly: South Asian Marketplaces Show How Niche Wins Big](https://www.ordering.co/_astro/blog/e75c612a35ede885-1400w.webp) ## Challenges & Differentiation Running a South Asian grocery marketplace has unique hurdles. Handling **delicate goods** (think rice, sauces, jaggery or ice cream!) requires tight logistics and reliable drivers. Quicklly invested in special packaging and routing algorithms. It also had to **educate mom-and-pop store owners** who never had e‑commerce experience; many needed hand-holding to digitize SKUs and manage demand. And it must continually **curate culturally** – one wrong substitute of ghee or chilli can alienate customers. Generic apps like Amazon or Uber Eats usually don’t cater to this nuance. Quicklly differentiates by making its whole system culturally aware: the tech team even labels software modules with desi puns (“LEARN – PLAN – GROW – LIVE” on their whiteboards [newswire.com](https://www.newswire.com/news/quicklly-changes-the-online-indian-grocery-landscape-the-first-to-22529999#:~:text=Quicklly%27s%20impact%20extends%20beyond%20just,ingredients%20gain%20widespread%20availability%20and)) to remind themselves of the community focus. As co-founder Keval notes, Quicklly’s mission is not just sales, it’s creating a _digital community center_ for Indian-Americans [newswire.com](https://www.newswire.com/news/quicklly-changes-the-online-indian-grocery-landscape-the-first-to-22529999#:~:text=Quicklly%27s%20impact%20extends%20beyond%20just,ingredients%20gain%20widespread%20availability%20and) [grocerydive.com](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/south-asian-food-marketplace-quicklly-links-with-home-chef-platform/626335/#:~:text=Right%20after%20the%20Instacart%20tie,base%20for%20meals%2C%20Raj%20said). For marketplace founders, the takeaway is clear: specialized logistics and merchant training are extra work, but they yield loyalty. This is exactly what Ordering.co anticipates: its multi-store routing and live chat support tools let you manage tricky deliveries and coach vendors through the app on day one. In short, a niche app _must_ solve these pain points better than a generic one – and Quicklly’s playbook, backed by tech like Ordering.co, shows it’s doable. ![Article image for Quicklly: South Asian Marketplaces Show How Niche Wins Big](https://www.ordering.co/_astro/blog/297b95419c3ed8de-1400w.webp) ## Strategic Lesson: Niche Beats Generic So what’s the big picture? Quicklly’s tale proves **niche marketplaces win by owning their community**. You might think giants like Walmart or Amazon would crush small players – but the diaspora had _specific_ needs that big players ignored. By obsessing over those specifics (regional product mix, holiday needs, language support), Quicklly built a fortress. Its growth and $5M+ funding show investors believe niche can scale too. The strategic lesson for entrepreneurs is: don’t be scared to **serve the nitty-gritty, hyper-specific demands** of a group. In today’s e-commerce world, specialization is an edge. And with powerful platforms like Ordering.co powering the back-end, a founder can spin up a fully-featured, white-label marketplace faster than ever. From branded apps and websites to smart dispatching and multi-channel integration, Ordering.co offers the exact toolkit Quicklly needed. In other words, your own Quicklly – whether for regional foods, ethnic goods or any underserved vertical – can be built and launched in weeks, letting you focus on passion instead of plumbing. **Sources:** Quicklly press releases and industry coverage [finsmes.com](https://www.finsmes.com/2022/07/quicklly-raises-4m-in-seed-funding.html#:~:text=Founded%20in%202017%20by%20Keval,the%C2%A0San%20Francisco%20Bay%20Area%C2%A0and%20nationwide) [grocerydive.com](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/south-asian-food-marketplace-quicklly-unveils-membership-program/618369/#:~:text=Since%20its%20founding%20in%202017%2C,and%20rolled%20out%20nationwide%20offerings) [newswire.com](https://www.newswire.com/news/quicklly-changes-the-online-indian-grocery-landscape-the-first-to-22529999#:~:text=Quicklly%20has%20partnered%20with%20Doordash%2C,S) [newswire.com](https://www.newswire.com/news/quicklly-and-visa-join-forces-to-deliver-next-gen-cross-border-payment-22293853#:~:text=CHICAGO%2C%20April%2030%2C%202024%20%28Newswire,time%5E%7B1%7D%20capabilities) [openpr.com](https://www.openpr.com/news/3670794/founders-of-quicklly-bring-indian-flavors-on-america-s-diverse#:~:text=,he%20added) [grocerydive.com](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/south-asian-food-marketplace-quicklly-links-with-home-chef-platform/626335/#:~:text=Right%20after%20the%20Instacart%20tie,base%20for%20meals%2C%20Raj%20said) [quicklly.com](https://www.quicklly.com/about-quicklly?srsltid=AfmBOopoXel9wyuHsYVRsRaySXHhtrl0ac9TTboS0baprOXP3gWTV778#:~:text=Quicklly%20provides%20a%20complete%20digital,Jersey%2C%20New%20York%20and%20nationwide) [grocerydive.com](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/south-asian-food-marketplace-quicklly-unveils-membership-program/618369/#:~:text=Last%20year%2C%20the%20company%20launched,boxes%2C%20catering%20and%20restaurant%20food) [grocerydive.com](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/south-asian-food-marketplace-quicklly-links-with-home-chef-platform/626335/#:~:text=,with%20a%20unique%20referral%20code) [newswire.com](https://www.newswire.com/news/quicklly-changes-the-online-indian-grocery-landscape-the-first-to-22529999#:~:text=Quicklly%27s%20impact%20extends%20beyond%20just,ingredients%20gain%20widespread%20availability%20and). (Ordering.co product details at ordering.co.) ## Keep reading. - ## [How Chowbus Turned Authentic Asian Cuisine Into a Niche Delivery Powerhouse](https://www.ordering.co/blog/how-chowbus-turned-authentic-asian-cuisine-into-a-niche-delivery-powerhouse/) Ever craved genuine xiao long bao on a delivery app and come up empty-handed? - ## [Best White-Label Marketplace Platforms](https://www.ordering.co/blog/best-white-label-marketplace-platforms/) The marketplace platform category is more crowded than it looks White-label marketplace platform is a description that hides a lot of variation. - ## [Custom Orders vs. Third-Party Errand Apps: Who Actually Keeps the Customer?](https://www.ordering.co/blog/custom-orders-vs.-third-party-errand-apps-who-actually-keeps-the-customer/) Adding errand delivery to your business has two paths: plug into a third-party errand app (their brand, their commission, their customer) or add Custom Orders to your own platform (your brand, your… ## See it running on your own menu. The shortest way to understand any of this is to watch an order go from a storefront to a store to a driver, on your locations. [Book a demo](https://www.ordering.co/contact/?meeting=demo#book)[See a live demo](https://www.ordering.co/demo/)