Russia’s Yandex.Lavka, the on-demand e-grocery delivery service launched by Russia’s NASDAQ-listed tech giant Yandex, last week announced its expansion to Kazan.  

The 1.3mn-strong city in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan joins Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and the suburbs of Israel’s Tel Aviv, where Yandex.Lavka already operates via a network for more than 280 local warehouse sites. Some of these sites will also double as click-and-collect locations for Yandex.Market, the company’s e-commerce arm.  

It takes no more than two to three minutes for Yandex.Lavka to assemble an order, thanks to a proprietary algorithm that helps staff navigate the warehouse floor, where shelves are stacked with maximising speed in mind.  

In Russia, X5 Retail Group, the country’s largest food retailer, and its leading e-commerce platform Ozon also offer express grocery delivery. But the fast, on-demand food shopping craze is not just a local phenomenon.  

French start-up Cajoo has recently raised $7.3mn as it works to make 15-minute grocery delivery possible in Paris. Glovo is working on fast grocery delivery in Spain, while in the US there is Instacart and Amazon Prime, which delivers some food items quickly across its markets of operation (although it normally takes longer than the 15 minutes promised by Yandex.Lavka).  

“We’re pleased to be able to offer our fast, on-demand service to more customers, who were unable to access it in the past. It is great to see Kazan embracing innovation,’’ Vadim Petrov, director of operations at Yandex.Lavka, said in a statement. “We hope that our service will benefit the region’s consumers and producers alike, as it does in all other areas where we operate.’’

Yandex.Lavka delivers approximately 2,500 types of goods, including groceries, ready meals and even smart Yandex devices, within 10-15 minutes of receiving an order. It is currently available between 7am to 11:30pm in Kazan, with plans to switch to a 24-hour service going forward. Orders can be placed via Yandex.Eats, Yandex.Lavka, Yandex Go and Yandex.Market apps for iOS and Android.  

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This article first appeared in New Economy Observer (NEO), a digital publication covering the intersection between finance and social responsibility, with a special focus on emerging markets. It offers news and analysis on major issues shaping the new global economy, including climate change and renewable energy, sustainable development, e-commerce and tech innovation, and the future of work.