BigBasket's food-retail FDI approval resurfaces from August 2017
Resurfacing a August 2017 move, BigBasket secured approval to retail food products made or produced in India with foreign investment. The online grocer planned to invest about Rs 100 crore and had to operate the food-retail business through a separate entity from its broader household-goods platform.
BigBasket received approval for FDI-backed retail of India-made food products, becoming the third online grocery player after Grofers and Amazon India. It must create a separate food-retail entity, as its existing platform also sells non-food household goods.
Why this matters
The 2017 approval predates BigBasket’s January 2023 offline expansion, including Bengaluru stores and a Hyderabad supermarket pilot, and its broader omnichannel grocery push.
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