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<ul><li>Domino’s has resumed its contactless delivery services in New Delhi according to an alert sent to customers.</li><li>The services were initially launched on March 17 but suspended thereafter when the country went under a 21-day lock down.</li><li>The company claims that its restaurants, delivery bikes, delivery bike boxes, and pizza delivery hot bags are sanitised every four hours</li></ul>The pizza delivery mammoth Domino’s has resumed contactless delivery in the national capital today, March 29. In an alert to customers in New Delhi, the Jubliant FoodWorks’ enterprise said they can check availability in their area to order “safe and hygienic” pizzas. <div type="image" title="WhatsApp Image 2020-03-29 at 10.28.51." msid="74871265" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Domino&amp;#39;s alert to customers in New Delhi informing them that &amp;#39;zero contact deliveries&amp;#39; have resumed&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Domino’s had originally launched this offer on March 17 but had to curtail their services when Prime Minister Narendra Modi implemented a 21-day lock down across the country. Now, the delivery service seems to be up and running again. How does ‘zero contact delivery’ work? Customers have to place thier order online and pay digitally for their meal. Once the order has been accepted, a ‘safe delivery expert’ will arrive at your home and place the order in front of your door. He’ll move back to a safe distance so that you can come pick it up and confirm its delivery. According to the company, its restaurants, delivery bikes, delivery bike boxes, and pizza delivery hot bags are sanitised every four hours. It claims that all its pizzas are safe for consumption as they were baked at 245 degrees Celsius and the healthany employee working on the production or delivery line is checked before they get to work. Initially, contactless delivery service was launched across all of Domino’s 1,325 restaurants across the country. So far, the recommencement of services has only been confirmed in New Delhi. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/harrowing-pictures-show-how-hundreds-of-thousands-of-migrant-workers-flock-to-state-borders-in-india-despite-the-nationwide-lock-down/articleshow/74870281.cms">Harrowing pictures show hundreds of thousands of migrant workers flocking to state borders in India despite nationwide lock down</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/akshay-kumar-guru-randhawa-and-suresh-raina-everyone-who-made-a-donation-to-pm-cares-fund-against-coronavirus/articleshow/74866128.cms">From Akshay Kumar, Guru Randhawa to Suresh Raina — All donations to PM-CARES fund against Coronavirus</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/ratan-tata-donates-500-crore-for-covid-19-for-testing-kits-and-protective-gear-for-health-workers/articleshow/74862906.cms">Ratan Tata donates ₹500 crore for Covid-19 for testing kits and protective gear for health workers</a>

You can now order Pizza as Domino's resumes contactless delivery in Delhi during the lock down

<ul><li>Brick and mortar retail to grow at 14-16% this fiscal, driven by continued expansion across segments – food, grocery, apparel and consumer durables, says a <keyword id="6359483" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="crisil" source="Orion">CRISIL</keyword> report. </li><li>Retailers’ capex is expected to go up by 8-10% this year, led by apparel segment. </li><li>These store additions will drive revenue growth of 18-20% this fiscal year, the report says. </li><li>Retailers are planning small format stores in tier 2, 3 and 4 cities. </li></ul>In just two years of almost losing the battle to e-commerce players and the pandemic, physical retailers in India are making a spectacular comeback. One of India’s largest retailers <keyword id="2407038" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="dmart" source="Orion">DMart</keyword> has added 50 new stores last year – it’s highest ever. Many more retailers are hitting the historic store-addition highs. For instance <keyword id="158137" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="domino" source="Orion">Domino</keyword>’s, run by <keyword id="95677" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="jubilant-foodworks" source="Orion">Jubilant FoodWorks</keyword> in India, opened 58 new stores across 12 cities in the first quarter of this year. At least ten top retailers have said that they are looking at rapid expansion. “Brick-and-mortar retail to grow at 14-16% this fiscal, driven by continued expansion across segments – food, grocery, apparel and consumer durables – and return to normalcy from the Covid-19 pandemic,” said a research report by CRISIL. In the last fiscal, store expansion was higher at 21%, the report noted. These store additions will drive revenue growth of 18-20% this fiscal year and the full impact of the expansion will be seen in the next few years. The investments by retailers are expected to go up by 8-10% this year, with the apparel segment expected to lead this growth. “Companies stated that a strong recovery was witnessed during the (first) quarter on the back of improved footfalls and receding impact of Covid. As a result, companies are now resuming with their store expansion plans,” said a report by Motilal Oswal. CRISIL also said that the credit metrics of retailers support their expansion plans. “The credit ratio moderated in FY21 reflecting pandemic impact. Waning of pandemic-related disruptions resulted in sharp recovery in FY22,” it said. Brick-and-mortar expands online too However, not all their expanded investments will go into physical stores, as most of them are keen on providing a hybrid experience. Brick-and-mortar retailers are growing their online presence with apps, warehouses and more – likely fuelling growth in e-retailing as well. Last year, e-retailing grew at 26%, and this year, it’s poised to grow anywhere between 27-32%, according to CRISIL. The rating agency also said that omnichannel strategy will be the way forward as lower footfalls in stores can be compensated by higher online sales. Retail footfalls are still at 85-90% of their pre-pandemic levels . “Stores can display limited inventory. Hence, an omnichannel is a must,” the report said. Retailers will tend to push last-season merchandise online at higher discounts. Table: Expansion plans of top retailers <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Retailer </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Store additions/ other growth plans </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">DMart </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Plans to add 135 stores by March 2024 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Aditya Birla Fashion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Already added 7 stores in July. Plans to add over 70 stores in FY23. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Titan </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Plans to add 35-40 Tanishq stores in FY23 if they find suitable properties. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">V-Mart </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Plans to add over 60 stores in FY23 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Westlife Development </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Has 12 McDonald stores under construction and on-track to add 35-40 in FY23 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Devyani International </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Target is to add over 100 KFCs and Pizza Huts each, and over 40 Costa Coffees in FY23. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Restaurant Brands Asia </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Plans to have 390 Burger Kings in India by FY23 – effectively adding over 100 stores </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Barbeque Nation </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Added 10 outlets so far and on track to add 35-40 outlets this year. Will also add 5 Toscano stores this year. Plans to launch a delivery-only Biryani brand, this year </td></tr></tbody></table> Source: Motilal Oswal research report Focus on franchising, tier II, III &amp; IV cities Retailers are also pivoting to franchising, though they will earn around 5% less profit from such stores. “Retailers are willing to part with that owing to lower risk and disproportionate gain from increasing brand awareness,” the CRISIL report said. Major store additions are also planned in tier II, III and IV cities, where retail penetration is lower than the national average that stands at 0.8 stores per million people. “Different store formats are being adopted in tier II and tier III cities. Usually, the store size is much smaller. Favourable rental costs, higher demand from private labels make tier II and tier III cities more attractive for driving sustainable growth,” the CRISIL report said, quoting excerpts from a webinar with retailers. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/asus-zenbook-s-13-oled-review-a-sleek-all-purpose-ultrabook-at-a-premium/articleshow/93749502.cms">Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED review – a sleek all-purpose ultrabook at a premium</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/haryana-tamil-nadu-odisha-and-kerala-have-so-far-reported-the-cases-of-tomato-flu-in-india/articleshow/93749634.cms">Tomato flu cases spread to Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Odisha — Know more about this contagious disease</a>

Brick and mortar retailers are growing and fuelling e-retail growth too

<ul><li><keyword id="3275685" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dunzo" source="Orion">Dunzo</keyword> currently operates in eight markets and plans to get into 20 more by 2023.</li><li>It has reduced its expenses per rupee of operating revenue from ₹13 in FY20 to ₹6 in FY21.</li><li>It caters to over 2 million orders on a monthly basis and reported a GMV of $200 million in FY20.</li></ul>Gross merchandise value (GMV) of quick commerce app Dunzo neared ₹600 crore in the financial year 2021, even though the Google-backed company reduced its marketing spends and did not enter any new cities in the last fiscal year. The company currently operates in eight cities — Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Gurgaon, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Jaipur. It caters to over 2 million orders on a monthly basis. The company's revenue jumped 66% to ₹46 crore. It has reduced its expenses per rupee of operating revenue, from ₹13 in FY20 to ₹6, in FY21, the company added. The company claims that their revenue grew due to increase in organic demand and being an essential service during the pandemic. <div type="image" title="Dunzo (3)" msid="85843860" hostid="261"></div> Founded by Dalvir Suri, Mukund Jha, Kabeer Biswas and Ankur Agarwal in 2015, Dunzo connects users with vendors like grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants and more to facilitate delivery of products. It also allows its customers to facilitate deliveries amongst themselves and hire a partner to fulfill pick-and-drop orders. Kabeer Biswas, chief executive and cofounder of Dunzo, told Business Insider in an interview that the company did not carry out any expansion activities in the last 15-18 months. “We didn’t want to go ahead and try to understand operations and go ahead and create issues on the ground because of us entering new cities. We didn’t know what the regulation would look like, we didn’t know what the virus would look like,” he added. Dunzo will resume its expansion plans in the later half of this year. Though the company is yet to finalise the nitty-gritty of the plan, it aims to enter 10 new markets by 2022 and 20 markets by 2023. The company plans to launch a pilot programme in Tier II city, a market with less than 10 lakh population, to test out the demand for their services, Biswas told Business Insider. <div type="image" title="Google-backed Dunzo earned nearly ₹600 crore from 8 cities in FY21, CEO says they&amp;#39;ll start expanding now" msid="85656892" hostid="261"></div> Biswas also added that Dunzo recorded a GMV of ₹267 crore between April and June, this year. The seven-year-old startup expects to continue its growth trajectory in FY22 as well, fuelled by its quick commerce segment. What’s up next for Dunzo? Dunzo has raised close to $130 million to date from marquee investors like Google, Lightbox, Evolvence India Fund, Lightrock, Alteria Capital and more. The company is now looking to launch 300 micro-fulfillment centres across 700 neighbourhoods with a focus on express grocery delivery. The company also launched its <keyword id="11947433" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dunzo-Daily" source="Orion">Dunzo Daily</keyword> offering recently to get deeper into the on-demand grocery delivery market. Biswas highlighted that grocery and essential items currently make up around 80-85% of Dunzo’s business in terms of GMV. The company now aims to expand Dunzo Daily with 2,000 stock keeping units (SKU) and scale it to top 20 cities in the next 18 months. The company claims that it is their most ambitious category till date. “What it does is, it goes ahead what a convenience store in 2021 would look like. I think what we are very excited about is the first 5 million odd customers in Bengaluru to try it and about 40 million customers across the country to try it over the next two years,” Biswas told Business Insider. Biswas noted that the major challenge to Dunzo Daily is the fact that it requires the company to operate as three businesses at once — a tech company, a logistics company and a retail company. “As a logistics company that’s just connecting people, your retail behavior understanding can be slightly low,” he said, adding that the company has been trying to understand retail behaviour in the last 15-18 months. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/amazon-twitter-hyundai-and-dominos-are-buying-indian-software-fuelling-a-75-billion-dream-chased-by-top-vcs-like-sequoia-and-tiger-global/articleshow/85646116.cms">Amazon, Twitter, Hyundai, and Domino’s are buying Indian software fuelling a $75 billion dream chased by top VCs like Sequoia and Tiger Global</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/infosys-airtel-kaveri-seed-and-other-top-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-august-26/slidelist/85645299.cms">Infosys, Airtel, Kaveri Seed and other top stocks to watch out for on August 26</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/investors-will-be-able-to-open-fixed-deposit-accounts-fds-on-google-pay/articleshow/85646488.cms">Google Pay to let users open fixed deposits on its platform</a>

Google-backed Dunzo GMV neared ₹600 crore from 8 cities in FY21, CEO says they'll start expanding now

The government has launched a toll-free helpline number - 08046110007 -- for people who may face any mental health issue due to the ongoing countrywide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. In its daily briefing on the coronavirus situation in the country, the health ministry said on Sunday the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, has launched the number. "We are under a lockdown and behavioural issues are very important under such situations. It is a new process. If there are any behavioural issues, lack of understanding for that we at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bangalore in collaboration with all other institutes has been trying to provide guidance. "National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) has also launched a toll free number 08046110007. I request everyone to fight unitedly against this disease so if we see any mental health issues then all the institutes are equipped to provide you with necessary support," said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, the Ministry of Health at the press briefing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a nationwide lockdown on March 24 for 21 days in order to arrest the spread of coronavirus. Earlier, WHO had warned that the coronavirus crisis and the restrictive measures that many countries are taking to contain the outbreak can have a negative impact on people's mental health and well-being. The number of confirmed cases in India as on Sunday stood at 979, including 25 deaths. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/harrowing-pictures-show-how-hundreds-of-thousands-of-migrant-workers-flock-to-state-borders-in-india-despite-the-nationwide-lock-down/articleshow/74870281.cms">Harrowing pictures show hundreds of thousands of migrant workers flocking to state borders in India despite nationwide lock down</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/akshay-kumar-guru-randhawa-and-suresh-raina-everyone-who-made-a-donation-to-pm-cares-fund-against-coronavirus/articleshow/74866128.cms">From Akshay Kumar, Guru Randhawa to Suresh Raina — All donations to PM-CARES fund against Coronavirus</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/food/news/order-pizza-as-dominos-resumes-contactless-delivery-in-delhi-during-the-lock-down/articleshow/74871279.cms">You can now order Pizza as Domino's resumes contactless delivery in Delhi during the lock down</a>

India launches mental health helpline to help people deal with lockdown stress

Their training halted by the coronavirus-forced national lockdown, India's Olympic-bound boxers will be provided online classes by their coaches from Monday to ensure that aspects such as mental well-being and nutrition are taken care of. Nine Indian boxers -- M C <keyword id="47387" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mary-Kom">Mary Kom</keyword> (51kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohani (69kg), Pooja Rani (75kg), <keyword id="4223810" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="amit-panghal">Amit Panghal</keyword> (52kg), Manish Kaushik (63kg), <keyword id="124083" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vikas-Krishan">Vikas Krishan</keyword> (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) -- have qualified for the <keyword id="229547" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tokyo-Games">Tokyo Games</keyword>, postponed to 2021 due to the global pandemic which has caused thousands of deaths. In a conference call with these boxers on Sunday, <keyword id="556818" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Boxing-Federation-of-India">Boxing Federation of India</keyword> (BFI) President Ajay Singh took stock of their preparations amid a national lockdown till April 14 to fight the pandemic. "This is a challenging time for all of us and is all the more a reason for us to take care of ourselves...stay fit, continue with the exercises as directed by the coaches and try to maintain your weights as much as possible," Singh told the boxers. "We will tide over this crisis soon and get back to the ring but staying motivated in the meantime is absolutely necessary," he added. Elaborating further on the 45-minute discussion, BFI's Executive Director R <keyword id="8975779" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="k-sacheti">K Sacheti</keyword> told that the areas of concern are diet control and mental health. "They are at their homes right now where diet can go for a toss. So the idea behind these online classes starting tomorrow is to ensure that they are kept aware of their nutritional needs," he said. Sacheti said India boxing's High Performance Director Santiago Nieva, who is now in Patiala after completing a 14-day self-isolation period in Delhi, will be conducting classes for men. The classes for women will be conducted by their high performance director Rafaelle Bergamasco. "Santiago is the only boxing coach who is in Patiala right now. He will have access to the boxing hall where he will educate the boxers on technicalities. The idea is to keep them connected and aware," he said. "We hope things improve and the lockdown ends but we can't start from the scratch when that happens. We have to have something going so that when it ends, there is a seamless transtion," he added. India booked an unprecedented nine Olympic slots at the Asian qualifiers in Jordan earlier this month. The national lockdown has put a halt to all sporting activities across the country. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused more than 20 deaths in India and infected over 900. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/harrowing-pictures-show-how-hundreds-of-thousands-of-migrant-workers-flock-to-state-borders-in-india-despite-the-nationwide-lock-down/articleshow/74870281.cms">Harrowing pictures show hundreds of thousands of migrant workers flocking to state borders in India despite nationwide lock down</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/akshay-kumar-guru-randhawa-and-suresh-raina-everyone-who-made-a-donation-to-pm-cares-fund-against-coronavirus/articleshow/74866128.cms">From Akshay Kumar, Guru Randhawa to Suresh Raina — All donations to PM-CARES fund against Coronavirus</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/food/news/order-pizza-as-dominos-resumes-contactless-delivery-in-delhi-during-the-lock-down/articleshow/74871279.cms">You can now order Pizza as Domino's resumes contactless delivery in Delhi during the lock down</a>

Mary Kom and other Olympic-bound boxers will train online during nationwide lockdown

The ubiquitous rosogolla, sondesh, misti doi are all off the platters of the sweet- toothed Bengalis during the unprecedented lockdown over the coronavirus threat. But they are not the only ones feeling bitter. The sweet shop owners, who are staring at huge losses, have urged the state authorities to grant them permission to run their businesses, even if not at full throttle. They say the milk procured by them is getting wasted and their employees being rendered jobless. Milkmen, who have signed annual contracts with shop owners, are at a loss trying to figure out what to do with the produce in the absence of proper distribution channels, a member of a sweet makers' association said. "A few have been able to supply milk to the shops, while others have been citing transport curbs as the reason for not being able to deliver. Either way, shop owners are paying up, but the milk is going down the drain for lack of any plan to put them to good use, Dhiman Chandra Das, a member of Paschim Bango Mistanna Byabosayee Samity (sweet makers body), said. Chandra assured that if they are allowed to run shops, the owners would abide by all safety precautions. "We are aware of the dangers of the pandemic. We understand the necessity of the lockdown. But we have been urging the authorities to find a solution so that the huge quantity of milk bought by sweet shops doesnt go waste. We had requested the food processing department, too, to look at the matter, but there has been no response," Das complained. Arun Dey, the owner of a popular shop in Hooghly district, said sweet makers account for more than 60 per cent of the milk that is bought in a day. "As of now, we have asked our milkman not to deliver. We can only hope that once the lockdown is lifted, we will be able to run our business as usual," he said. Another shop owner in Ballygunge area said sweets and other dairy products worth Rs 90,000 got wasted in her store after the lockdown was imposed. "We want the government to open a window for us. We know there is a major crisis. But we hope things will get better," she said. Das said at least one lakh sweet shops across Bengal were reeling under losses. "I am not saying that we should be allowed to make and sell our regular products. But if curd and certain other dairy items could be added to the list of essentials, it would be of immense help to the shop owners, their employees as well as the milkmen," he added. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/coranavirus-cases-in-west-bengal-news-and-updates/articleshow/74773834.cms">Coronavirus cases in West Bengal news and updates</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/harrowing-pictures-show-how-hundreds-of-thousands-of-migrant-workers-flock-to-state-borders-in-india-despite-the-nationwide-lock-down/articleshow/74870281.cms">Harrowing pictures show hundreds of thousands of migrant workers flocking to state borders in India despite nationwide lock down</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/akshay-kumar-guru-randhawa-and-suresh-raina-everyone-who-made-a-donation-to-pm-cares-fund-against-coronavirus/articleshow/74866128.cms">From Akshay Kumar, Guru Randhawa to Suresh Raina — All donations to PM-CARES fund against Coronavirus</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/food/news/order-pizza-as-dominos-resumes-contactless-delivery-in-delhi-during-the-lock-down/articleshow/74871279.cms">You can now order Pizza as Domino's resumes contactless delivery in Delhi during the lock down</a>

Rasgullas and other sweets go missing from shops in West Bengal amid Coronavirus lock down

<ul><li>Spain’s Princess <keyword id="142741" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maria-Teresa">Maria Teresa</keyword> is the first member of a royal family to die from Coronavirus.</li><li>The 89-year old ‘Red Princess’ passed away in Paris on March 27.</li><li>Two other royals — The Duke of Wales, <keyword id="20898" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="prince-charles">Prince Charles</keyword> and Prince Albert II of Monaco — have also tested positive for Covid-19.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=coronavirus&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Follow the comprehensive coverage of the Coronavirus pandemic in India on Business Insider India.</a></li></ul>Just weeks after Spain’s King Filipe VI tested negative for Covid-19, his cousin — Spain’s Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma — passed away due to the infection. Prince Charles, the Duke of Wales and Prince Albert II of Monaco are two other royals who have tested positive for Covid-19. The ‘Red Princess’, known for her outspoken views and activism, is the first member of a royal family to succumb to Coronavirus. The 89-year old died in Paris on March 27, according to a statement by her brother and Duke of Aranjuez, Prince Sixto Enrique de Borbon. 
 
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 Spain is one of the worst-hit countries not just in Europe, but globally — second only to Italy. The country’s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/coronavirus-in-spain-832-deaths-total-cases-5690/articleshow/74862369.cms">death toll</a> has surged to 5,600 after a record 832 people died in a span of 24 hours. The total number of infections in Spain now stands at a massive 72,248 in a population of 46.75 million. “If we are not already at the peak, we are very close,” said the head of Spain’s health emergency coordination center, Fernando Simon. Other members of royal families Britain’s Prince Charles tested positive for Coronavirus on March xx. According to officials, he had been “displaying mild symptoms but other remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual.” The 71-year old has been quarantined at the royal family’s home in Scotland on the Balmoral estate. His wife, Camilla, tested negative for the virus. Charles met with Prince Albert II of Monaco on March 10, who has since also tested positive for the virus. The 62-year old claims told RTL radio, “I was at a roundtable for his foundation, but we never shook hands. I was at the other end of table, way far way,” denying any claims that Charles may have infected him. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/harrowing-pictures-show-how-hundreds-of-thousands-of-migrant-workers-flock-to-state-borders-in-india-despite-the-nationwide-lock-down/articleshow/74870281.cms">Harrowing pictures show hundreds of thousands of migrant workers flocking to state borders in India despite nationwide lock down</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/akshay-kumar-guru-randhawa-and-suresh-raina-everyone-who-made-a-donation-to-pm-cares-fund-against-coronavirus/articleshow/74866128.cms">From Akshay Kumar, Guru Randhawa to Suresh Raina — All donations to PM-CARES fund against Coronavirus</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/food/news/order-pizza-as-dominos-resumes-contactless-delivery-in-delhi-during-the-lock-down/articleshow/74871279.cms">You can now order Pizza as Domino's resumes contactless delivery in Delhi during the lock down</a>

Spain's Princess Maria Teresa dies due to Coronavirus, first from a royal family to succumb to the deadly disease

India, the world's third largest energy consumer, has enough petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) in stocks to last way beyond the three-week nationwide lockdown as all plants and supply locations are fully operational, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) Chairman Sanjiv Singh said. Singh, who continued to oversee the mammoth operations of ensuring that fuel reaches every nook and corner despite bereavement of his father on the day 21-day lockdown was declared, said there is no shortage of any fuel in the country and customers should not resort to panic booking of LPG refills. "We have mapped demand for all fuel for entire April and beyond. We have refineries operating at levels enough to meet all of the demand. Besides all bulk storage points, LPG distributorships and petrol pumps are functioning normally. There is absolutely no shortage of any fuel," he told . The nationwide lockdown that has shut businesses, suspended flights, stopped trains and brought almost entire vehicular movement to a halt, has impacted fuel demand with petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) showing negative growth (degrowth or fall in demand). With most cars and two-wheelers going off the road, <keyword id="4003325" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="petrol-demand">petrol demand</keyword> has fallen by 8 per cent in March while <keyword id="1425201" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="diesel-demand">diesel demand</keyword> has been down 16 per cent. ATF demand has fallen by 20 per cent, he said. "<keyword id="3180064" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="LPG-consumption">LPG consumption</keyword> however continues to grow and we are servicing all customers," he said adding refill demand saw more than 200 per cent jump as the lockdown was announced. The refills sought were a result of panic booking as in the absence of the exhausting existing ones, many could not take deliveries of new cylinders, he said adding even customers with double cylinder connections had ordered for refills without exhausting even one cylinder. "There is absolutely no need for panic booking. We have enough stocks to meet all demand," he said. "When a customer resorts to panic booking, it puts unnecessary strain on the system as the requirement is immediately transmitted to bottling locations which make additional refills, transport it to bulk location and onward to the distributor. "Distributors use already stretched delivery boys to physically deliver the cylinder to customer's home only to return back with the filled cylinder as the customer refused delivery because existing ones hadn't exhausted." Singh said due to lower demand of liquid fuels, refinery run-rates have been lowered by 25-30 per cent - meaning they would produce up to 30 per cent less of all fuel - petrol, diesel, ATF, naphtha and LPG. Every barrel of crude oil when processed produces a certain percentage of petrol, diesel, kerosene/ATF and LPG. So, lower processing of crude would result in lower production of all fuel. "To make up for the shortfall in LPG production, we have tied up for imports to meet the requirement of entire April," he said. "We have mapped requirement of LPG for all of April, including the additional demand that would come from the government's announcement of free cooking gas for three months to over 8 crore Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries." On March 26, the government announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore package to deal with hardships caused by the lockdown. This involved giving free foodgrain and 3 LPG cylinders during April to June to poor. "We may need 850,000 tonne of additional LPG and we have tied up import for all of it," Singh said. "To make lockdown a success, LPG is the key as without cooking fuel people would not stay home. So we have made adequate arrangements to make it available," he said. IOC supplies to nearly half of the 27.59 crore active LPG customers. "The terminals and depots, LPG distributorships and fuel stations are well-stocked... Customers are advised not to panic or resort to hoarding and panic-buying... or visit the showrooms and godowns of their LPG distributorships for obtaining refills," he said. For the past 10 days, IOC has been delivering on an average 25 lakh cylinders every day to the doorsteps of its customers. All state-run fuel retailers together deliver about 52 lakh refills throughout the country. All 119 Aviation Fuel Stations of IOC across the country are operating with optimum strength and full safety precautions to meet the aviation fuel (ATF) needs of defence aircraft, cargo flights and medical ambulances. Singh said despite the challenges posed by Covid-19 lockdown, IOC is fully geared to maintain smooth supply of petroleum products to its customers. The firm has put in place robust plans for petroleum movement and stocks at upcountry locations. Even in the face of restricted movement of people and vehicles, IOC is ensuring loading of petrol, diesel and LPG at its bulk storage/distribution points with optimised manpower. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/harrowing-pictures-show-how-hundreds-of-thousands-of-migrant-workers-flock-to-state-borders-in-india-despite-the-nationwide-lock-down/articleshow/74870281.cms">Harrowing pictures show hundreds of thousands of migrant workers flocking to state borders in India despite nationwide lock down</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/akshay-kumar-guru-randhawa-and-suresh-raina-everyone-who-made-a-donation-to-pm-cares-fund-against-coronavirus/articleshow/74866128.cms">From Akshay Kumar, Guru Randhawa to Suresh Raina — All donations to PM-CARES fund against Coronavirus</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/food/news/order-pizza-as-dominos-resumes-contactless-delivery-in-delhi-during-the-lock-down/articleshow/74871279.cms">You can now order Pizza as Domino's resumes contactless delivery in Delhi during the lock down</a>

India has more than enough petrol, diesel and LPG to last beyond the 21-day lock down

<ul><li>Many animals have been spotted roaming the streets during the lockdown as traffic remains scarce on roads.</li><li>Residents of Sector 5 in Chandigarh have been asked to stay indoors after a leopard-like animal was spotted in the area. </li><li>Some posts on social media claim that the rare Malabar civet was spotted in Kozhizode, however the video is most likely of a small Indian civet, which is native to the region.</li><li>Other animals like the Sambar deer in Chandigarh, dolphins in Mumbai and Olive Ridley sea turtles in Odisha have also been spotted out in the open.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=coronavirus&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Follow the comprehensive coverage of the Coronavirus pandemic in India on Business Insider India.</a></li></ul>The lockdown in India is keeping behind closed doors. The lack of hustle and bustle on the streets is letting animals finally come out of their hiding holes and roam about in the open. Residents of Chandigarh's upscale Sector 5 locality have been asked to stay indoors by the police after a leopard-like animal was spotted in the area. Wildlife activists, on the other hand, have said they are not sure that the animal was a leopard and that efforts to catch it were already in progress. The leopard isn't the only animal that people are confused about. A video of a small Indian civet roaming the streets of Kozhizode in Kerala has also been making the rounds. Even though many have claimed that its the Malabar civet — an endangered species which hasn’t been seen since the 1990s — fact checking website <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/spotted-malabar-civet-coronavirus/">Snopes</a> contends that it’s unlikely. Unlike the Malabar Civet, the small Indian civet is listed as ‘least concern’ on the Red List of Threated Species. The species is fairly common and healthy populations can be found living in agricultural landscapes. According to Indian Forest Officer, Parveen Kaswan, the noctural nimal is natural to the area — less traffic allows then to walk freely. 
	
	
	
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="susantananda3" handlename="Susanta Nanda IFS" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1223997242656227335/fDX-jsPs_normal.jpg" favoritecount="1500" retweetcount="433" status="Now it’s turn of the Malabar large spotted civet on the road👍🏻Critically endangered with fewer than 250 matured ind… https://t.co/KBBS2DnmKj" createdat="1585225373000" id="1243151433509175298"></div>













 Sambar deer in Chandigarh In another video that’s making the rounds on social media, Sambar deer were seen crossing the streets of Chandigarh at night. While it’s uncommon to see them on roads, the species is native to the region. The deer may also have wandered in from one of Chandigarh’s two wildlife sanctuaries. In past, numerous accidents have been reported of cars accidentally ramming into deer as they try to cross the road, according to Kaswan. Olive Ridley’s nesting in the daytime after seven years Olive Ridley sea turtles, which return to the Odisha coastline every year to day their eggs were seen nesting during the day for the first time in seven years. The lack of fishing boats in the sea, tourists coming to watch and foot traffic in general is likely the reason for the return of this uncommon phenomenon. This year, around 800,000 have been spotted in hatcheries and laid over 60 million eggs. 
	
	
	
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="soumyajitt" handlename="Soumyajit Pattnaik" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/906575361986543616/7HFu4PWp_normal.jpg" favoritecount="144" retweetcount="40" status="The lockdown has now ensured no disturbances for the Olive Ridley Turtles #Odisha https://t.co/ICj9xVJTwY" createdat="1585124658000" id="1242729005482008576"></div>













 Dolphins, Nilgai and elephants come to check-in In a rare occurrence, dolphins were seen in the in the bay in Mumbai. Most people believe that the their return is likely due to absence of fishing vessels in the water due tot lockdown. 
	
	
	
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="sanjaybhutiani" handlename="sanjay bhutiani" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/773476338858680320/iD88haEa_normal.jpg" favoritecount="24" retweetcount="4" status="And we are now seeing Dolphins off Malabar Hill &amp; Marine Drive in Mumbai, India ! #AnimalCrossingNewHorizons… https://t.co/1akg5CTLAY" createdat="1585310356000" id="1243507881045045250"></div>













 A Nilgai was spotted roaming the highway outside the Great India Place in Noida. Although uncommon out on the open road, the animal is native to the region and can be found in abundance if you know where to look. Like the Sambar deer, there have been many incidents of the animals accidentally getting hit by cars trying to cross the road. 
	
	
	
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="ananya116" handlename="Ananya Bhattacharya" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1238693066791403521/peQWfE1u_normal.jpg" favoritecount="36" retweetcount="10" status="This is unbelievable. Nilgai takes over #Noida streets. Not bad a video to watch during #Lockdown21. ❤️ (Video via… https://t.co/aAArbdkb8X" createdat="1585292712000" id="1243433877147799555"></div>













 In Haridwar, an elephant was seen visiting a near-by village — not an uncommon sight — although it looked curious as to why there were no humans outside. 
	
	
	
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="ParveenKaswan" handlename="Parveen Kaswan, IFS" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1240508065276817409/96NXPb9W_normal.jpg" favoritecount="577" retweetcount="98" status="This elephant came to Haridwar town today to check if everything is right. Took a walk through the streets. They vi… https://t.co/ZTzT3IPSub" createdat="1585417593000" id="1243957664788271104"></div>













 Even though many animals have been seen roaming the streets as humans remain inside, it’s not an indication of nature reclaiming urban cities. At most, its a temporary shift where animals adapting to human habits. Once the lock down is over, things will likely return to business-as-usual. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/harrowing-pictures-show-how-hundreds-of-thousands-of-migrant-workers-flock-to-state-borders-in-india-despite-the-nationwide-lock-down/articleshow/74870281.cms">Harrowing pictures show hundreds of thousands of migrant workers flocking to state borders in India despite nationwide lock down</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/akshay-kumar-guru-randhawa-and-suresh-raina-everyone-who-made-a-donation-to-pm-cares-fund-against-coronavirus/articleshow/74866128.cms">From Akshay Kumar, Guru Randhawa to Suresh Raina — All donations to PM-CARES fund against Coronavirus</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/food/news/order-pizza-as-dominos-resumes-contactless-delivery-in-delhi-during-the-lock-down/articleshow/74871279.cms">You can now order Pizza as Domino's resumes contactless delivery in Delhi during the lock down</a>

The Malabar Civet isn't one of them, but the Coronavirus lockdown has brought a lot of animals out of hiding

By Neelabh Srivastava New Delhi, Mar 29 () Over 450 doctors recruited recently as medical officers in the CAPFs have been asked to join service "immediately" as the forces are ramping up their healthcare setup to combat COVID-19, a top paramilitary officer said on Sunday. Retired medical officers have been "alerted" and modalities are being worked on to hire doctors on contractual service to man the chain of the forces' country-wide hospitals and quarantine centres that have a combined strength of more than 7,200 beds, ITBP Director General (DG) Surjeet Singh Deswal told . "Over 450 doctors who were recruited as medical officers for all the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) recently have been called to join duty immediately...with no loss of time. "They will enhance our strength in combating the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak in the country," Deswal said. A senior official said the plan was formulated at the ITBP headquarters and top-level sanctions were obtained from the Union Home Ministry before summoning these doctors. These doctors, the DG said, were recruited recently by the government for the CAPFs and ITBP was the nodal agency for their recruitment. The CAPFs have a combined strength of over 2,000 doctors and specialists at present apart from other paramedical staff. These doctors are being posted to CAPF hospitals and bases near their place of stay so that they can join without having to travel far, the ITBP chief said. The government had recently taken over the chain of 32 CAPF hospitals across the country, with a total capacity of about 1,900 beds, for isolation and treatment of COVID-19 affected patients. These forces comprise the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Elite counter-terror force National Security Guard (NSG) is also part of this wide setup of medical facilities being prepared in view of the increasing number of cases of coronavirus infections being reported from across the country. "We are also preparing modalities to hire doctors on contract to work at our health facilities even as we have alerted those who have retired from service. Those who have superannuated are being asked to remain on standby as their services may be required anytime," Deswal said. The ITBP, which is primarily tasked to guard the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, is also running a 1,000-bed quarantine in Delhi's Chhawla area. A total of 418 Indians evacuated from Italy using special flights are housed at this facility at present, even as 518 citizens and foreigners have been discharged till now from here. Deswal said the force, apart from round-the-clock medical monitoring and providing essential services of food and entertainment to the inmates, has now begun counselling them. "Some of the people who have been evacuated from COVID-19-affected countries and are kept at our centre have high anxiety levels as they have seen devastation all around. That is normal for a human. "We have begun their counselling and are motivating them by presenting them the facts about this viral diseases and success stories," Deswal, a 1984-batch Haryana cadre IPS officer, said. At present, he is also heading the BSF as an additional charge. The DG said the morale of the force doctors and other staff members at the Chhawla camp is "high and they are committed in this fight against coronavirus". They are very happy to do this national duty and we have provided all protective gear to all of them, he said. The DG had on Saturday issued a message to the around 90,000-strong force that troops should be ready for any national duty that may be entrusted on them in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, and COVID-19 safety guidelines should be followed diligently. The CAPFs also reported their first case of coronavirus infection on Saturday, with a BSF officer and a CISF jawan being found positive. The CAPFs, which have around 10 lakh personnel, work under the command of the Home Ministry and are deployed to render a variety of internal security duties apart from border-guarding. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/harrowing-pictures-show-how-hundreds-of-thousands-of-migrant-workers-flock-to-state-borders-in-india-despite-the-nationwide-lock-down/articleshow/74870281.cms">Harrowing pictures show hundreds of thousands of migrant workers flocking to state borders in India despite nationwide lock down</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/akshay-kumar-guru-randhawa-and-suresh-raina-everyone-who-made-a-donation-to-pm-cares-fund-against-coronavirus/articleshow/74866128.cms">From Akshay Kumar, Guru Randhawa to Suresh Raina — All donations to PM-CARES fund against Coronavirus</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/food/news/order-pizza-as-dominos-resumes-contactless-delivery-in-delhi-during-the-lock-down/articleshow/74871279.cms">You can now order Pizza as Domino's resumes contactless delivery in Delhi during the lock down</a>

Over 450 newly recruited CAPF doctors asked to join the fight against Coronavirus

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Zume Pizza, the pizza-making robotics startup, spent its early days pitching investors and the public on an AI-powered robotic revolution at the hands of its robot fleet.</li><li>But the revolution hit a snag, and in January, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zume-pizza-robots-layoffs-leadership-turmoil-alex-garden-softbank-2020-1">Zume announced that it was permanently shuttering Zume Pizza, the robotics division of the company, and laying off roughly 360 employees across multiple offices.</a></li><li>Now, Zume is looking to sustainable packaging to stay afloat as its<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/softbank-and-zume-funding-deal-never-happened-2020-1"> cofounder and CEO Alex Garden struggles to right the sinking ship</a>.</li><li>In interviews with Business Insider, more than a dozen current and former Zume employees described Garden's aggressive and erratic management style that many attribute to the company's struggles.</li><li>Insiders say that Garden had a tendency to over promise and under deliver. As hundreds of millions of dollars from SoftBank and other investors flowed in to the company, Zume grew its ranks and ambitions.</li><li>But flaws in Zume's business and operations doomed Garden's robot revolution and have left the company's future in question.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary">Click here for more BI Prime stories</a>.</li></ul>Alex Garden pulled into the Silicon Valley VC firm's parking lot in a Ford Raptor pickup truck.The massive $90,000 truck looks straight out of a Mad Max apocalypse scene, with rugged tires and an impressively lifted body. It boasts the ability to navigate rugged off-road terrain with state-of-the-art shocks and engine capacity. If you were preparing for the end of the world, you would be in the market for a Raptor."There was always a nice car," one Zume investor recalled when asked what stood out about Garden.The truck didn't last long. Soon, Garden abandoned the apocalypse-mobile for his preferred method of travel - his motorcycle. He was commuting to his company's Mountain View, Calif. headquarters from his home in Tiburon, a bayside town north of San Francisco where the average price of a home floats above $2.3 million. The freedom of navigating the Bay Area's highways on a bike would no doubt have appealed to Garden, who sources said wasn't one for rules or restrictions in other parts of his life. But that was Garden's way. The always confident, fast-moving entrepreneur stood out among his founder peers as much as his mode of transport stood out among the Bay Area's homogeneous fleet of Teslas and BMWs. In an industry marked by brainy engineers and Stanford MBAs, Garden was cut from a different cloth, despite having spent most of his adult life immersed in the video-game side of the tech industry. What he shared with some of the most famous, and infamous, names of Silicon Valley lore, from Steve Jobs to Elizabeth Holmes, was a knack for being a "storyteller" - someone capable of inspiring employees, investors and the media about an electrifying idea, no matter how far-fetched. Garden's story involved robots, and pizza. His startup, Zume, was going to change the rules of the food industry by unleashing armies of pizza-making droids that could pump out pies faster, more economically and with a wow factor that was way beyond anything a human dough-hand could do. Investors, including Japan's SoftBank, and SignalFire, ate it up.But the the robo-pizza revolution that Garden promised never came. Problems with the bots became evident early on, with the machines creating metal shavings that risked contaminating the food, according to one witness, and failing to meet performance requirements. Even as Zume raised hundreds of millions of dollars and staffed up with hundreds of employees, doubts about the viability of the business and Garden's leadership pervaded the operation. Employees noticed that Garden had a tendency to overpromise, underdeliver, and overpromise again. What started as a mission to build robots gradually became an effort to deliver pizzas baked on-the-go. By January, the robots, the pizza and, half of Zume's employees were summarily discarded in favor of new bet to make compostable food packaging. Business Insider spoke with more than a dozen current and former Zume employees who provided a first-hand account of the startup's erratic trajectory over its five-year history and Garden's at times controversial role at the helm of the company.A Zume spokeswoman declined to comment for this article.<h2>An early success in video games</h2>Garden's life as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur started with video games. Garden started a game studio in Vancouver, Canada, called Relic Entertainment, and in 1999, at age 23, he had a hit on his hands. "Homeworld," a real-time strategy game set in an alternative universe with warring planetary factions, was considered one of the first breakout desktop games of the genre and was <a href="https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/homeworld">praised by critics</a> when it launched. The game even caught the attention of the Brithis prog-rock group Yes, which collaborated with Garden's company and wrote the music for the game, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuMgSg9ubK4">according to a video about the project on YouTube.</a>By the time he founded Zume in 2015, Garden had added high-level roles at Microsoft and Zynga to his resume, and he was not shy about highlighting his industry credentials during meetings with early investors and employees, sources told Business Insider. When he started talking to investors, his reputation as a gaming industry personality and Microsoft senior employee came up often in glowing terms. "Investors thought he was the next Zuckerberg," the investor told Business Insider.At Microsoft, Garden served as the director and general manager of Xbox Live, the Xbox console's online player network, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/gaming/2011/11/24/2584154/microsoft-buys-videosurf-search-tech-xbox-live">according to press reports from the time.</a> When Zume investors tried to learn more about what the role entailed however, during the traditional vetting process, they were unable to confirm details of his employment or departure from Microsoft. In 2014, Garden joined Zynga as the head of game studios. Garden joined the San Francisco company along with Don Mattrick, the former head of interactive entertainment at Xbox, who had just been hired as Zynga's new CEO. About year later, Mattrick was out, and so was Garden. Virtually all of Garden's experience was in video games and entertainment, not robotics. But to investors, his background mattered less than his pitch. Garden was going to unseat Domino's and Pizza Hut to become the biggest pizza brand in the world. He dropped in the buzz words - artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning - that brought in the big valuations. <h2>A fateful meeting with "Masa"</h2>The pitch appears to have struck a chord with Masayoshi Son, the head of SoftBank, and controller of the $100 billion Vision Fund. Garden met with Masa, as the Japanese billionaire is regularly referred to in Silicon Valley, in 2017 ahead of a planned Series B fundraise. Garden liked to tell employees that "Masa invested in me," implying that he personally was the driving force in securing the Series B and subsequent Series C investments, a former Zume employee told Business Insider.When the SoftBank deal closed in September 2017, Zume was valued at $218 million - a nice step up from Zume's first round of funding in 2016 which valued it at $50 million and included investors Kortschak Investments, AME Cloud Ventures, SignalFire, and Maveron.By the time of the SoftBank deal, Zume was starting to get some name recognition even though few people had actually tasted the pizza (and among those who had eaten the pizza, several sources described it to Business Insider as mediocre). Garden hit the media circuit hard in 2017, appearing on CNBC and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HE4Ygtud10">This Week in Startups</a> to discuss how Zume was not only saving the world from environmental disaster, but also paving the way for the future of work for millions of low-wage earners across the world. Pizza was just the start. The entire food preparation industry would be unseated by automation, Garden claimed, and his startup was going to make it happen. The startup even made an made an appearance in HBO's tech industry satire show "Silicon Valley," which featured a cameo of Zume's pizza with reference to its pizza-making robots.But Garden was struggling financially, the Zume investor said, and was starting to look for other ways to boost his personal income. SignalFire stepped in and made Garden a venture partner with a salary of roughly $250,000, plus the usual deal carry incentives.SignalFire cofounder Chris Farmer confirmed that Garden served as a venture partner on the firm's Fund 2, but said that Garden stepped back over a year ago and is not a venture partner on the current fund. "Given his obligations to Zume as the company scaled, he asked to step back over a year ago," Farmer said. He also disputed the accuracy of Garden's compensation when he was a partner, but declined to provide clarification. Garden was listed as a partner on the SignalFire website as recently as Wednesday, but his name disappeared after Business Insider inquired to SignalFire about his role. <h2>Fancy robots and metal shavings </h2>As investor capital flowed in, Zume quickly put it to work, hiring experts in robotics and engineering from universities and other buzzy startups.Business Insider toured <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zume-pizza-robot-expansion-2017-6">Zume's production area in Mountain View in August 2018</a>, prior to SoftBank's investment in the company. At the time, the robots were essentially mechanical arms that "press mounds of dough, squirt and spread sauce, and lift pizzas in and out of the oven, in a fraction of the time it would take human workers to do the same."It's not clear how many of those robots were in existence and how that figure has changed in the years since, but a Zume spokesperson told Business Insider in 2018 that its Mountain View production facility was capable of churning out about 370 pizzas an hour.Behind the orchestrated photo-ops, the real picture was not as pretty.A former employee told Business Insider that the robots on which Zume, and Garden by extension, had built the entire business were inherently flawed and could not clear food safety inspections because they produced metal shavings, which could end up in finished pizzas. Business Insider confirmed the shavings were present in the food preparation area in a series of photos provided by the former employee."They had hired many people who had no idea what kind of equipment was supposed to be used in food, and many engineers were not food hardware engineers," the former employee said.SoftBank invested in another $375 million funding round in November 2018 that catapulted Zume to unicorn status with a valuation between $1 billion and $2.25 billion, sources said. The private valuation could not be confirmed by Business Insider.SoftBank, now Zume's largest investor, wanted growth at all costs. Having little background in the technical aspects of robotics and food preparation logistics, Garden struggled to keep the business focused, multiple sources said. "Pieces of information would come in from a single source or customer and the overcorrection to that one data point was incredible," another former employee told Business Insider. "That was the case from the beginning, and when you add $375 million it's like pouring gasoline on the fire."<h2>A $1 million truck and broken ovens</h2>With the robotics division struggling to live up to expectations, Garden came up with a new solution: delivery trucks that could bake the pizzas while in transit so as to cut delivery times and improve the finished product showing up at customers' doors. The "baked on the way" trucks as they were called, made appearances at corporate campuses and on Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" TV show on CNBC.But at least five former employees cited issues with the startup's famous trucks. The main truck, nicknamed "Martha," cost the startup over $1 million, but lacked the technology to adequately bake pizzas, sources said. Photos of the trucks' interiors provided to Business Insider show broken glass, insufficient refrigeration, and pizza boxes stacked on the floor. Delivery and catering crews often resorted to cooking pizzas at the startup's Mountain View warehouse and delivering orders in personal cars, sources said. But the quality assurance team was personally directed by Garden to keep all 11 trucks in service "until something major happened," one source said.Another former employee recounted a disastrous catering experience in which the team had to resort to cooking the pizzas in a toaster oven for over 100 people when the ovens in two separate trucks didn't work."It was all really reckless," one of the former employees said. This employee left Zume after voicing concerns with the machinery, specifically the metal shavings and malfunctioning blade, to Garden, and threatened to alert the FTC to misleading advertising since Zume was still marketing the pizzas as baked on the way. <h2>Like pouring gasoline on a wood-fired oven</h2>Every former employee that spoke to Business Insider spoke of an argument or disagreement with Garden that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zume-cmo-mark-crumpacker-executive-departures-softbank-startup-2019-11">contributed in some way to their departure</a>. From executives to hourly staff, multiple sources spoke of an unpleasant workplace, led by Garden, that pushed employees to their breaking points.Multiple former employees said that Garden directed hiring managers and recruiting to hire young, attractive women for entry-level roles, including his own executive assistant. Many of these women were recent college graduates or had yet to land a full-time job. Several sources called Garden's hiring process "misogynist."Garden's cofounder, Julia Collins, left the company after taking maternity leave in November 2018. Collins had overseen the robotics division of Zume Pizza, which had rebranded to Zume, Inc. while she was on leave. Her departure coincided with the SoftBank investment, but several employees cited her departure as the sea-change with Zume's internal culture."The whole tone of the business changed without her guiding and steadying influence," one former employee said.Multiple sources said Garden changed the business direction often, and had a habit of talking over women employees and executives during meetings. "It seemed like it was hardest for women to be successful under Alex. Women that have been successful before and after Zume just couldn't be successful with Alex," one former employee said.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zume-pizza-executive-departures-softbank-funding-cfo-2019-11">Several high profile executive departures</a>, including CFO Meredith Whitney and General Counsel Kira Druyan, involved women with established careers in their respective fields. Some faced Garden's wrath after voicing dissenting opinions about the business or Garden's personal conduct, sources said."He doesn't handle people who question his authority well," the former employee said. "He likes to dress people down."As of January, following layoffs at the company, Zume no longer has a woman in its C-suite.<h2>A bitter pill for "Juiceranos"</h2>With the January layoffs and reorg, Zume has once again shifted gears to pursue a new business plan, and Garden is almost completely alone at the steering wheel. The layoffs were hidden from employees until <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zume-pizza-robots-layoffs-leadership-turmoil-alex-garden-softbank-2020-1">a Business Insider report shed light on the company's plans</a>, and several employees that were affected said the promised severance has yet to materialize. One employee said they were given "Alex leave," an internal joke that employees could not show up to work for several months and still collect a paycheck until severance kicked in a few months down the road. The startup's remaining employees will focus on compostable packaging, a business Zume acquired when it purchased its pizza packaging partner Pivot Packaging in February 2019. Although Zume's website indicates a nation-wide test run of the packaging with Pizza Hut, Business Insider confirmed that the test is currently on hold after concerns were raised at the single location in Arizona that had used Zume packaging.Pizza Hut was not immediately available for comment.Employees are scrambling to make the manufacturing process function, sources said, as a contract between Zume and members of the Saudi government is pending. Garden's Hail Mary comes as Zume-backer SoftBank is retrenching and taking a harder look at money-losing startups in the wake of struggles at Uber and WeWork, two of SoftBank's biggest bets. In December, SoftBank <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/softbank-and-zume-funding-deal-never-happened-2020-1">declined to move forward with planned funding for Zume, according to documents viewed by Business Insider.</a>Meanwhile, the 360 Zume staffers that were terminated in January were told they could apply for 100 new open positions at the startup, but as of press time, those roles were not publicly listed on Zume's site or other employment sites. Prior to the layoffs, a lack of transparency and a steady trickle of worrisome information about the business led some employees to humorously refer to their employer as "Juiceranos," a combination of famously defunct startups Juicero and Theranos. For the hundreds of people who signed up for Garden's revolution, the nickname seems more apt everyday. Do you work at Zume or another SoftBank-backed startup and want to share your story? Contact this reporter via encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 (331) 625-2555 using a nonwork phone, email at <a href="mailto:mhernbroth@businessinsider.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mhernbroth@businessinsider.com</a>, or Twitter DM at <a href="https://bi.slack.com/team/UHK3R2UTZ" rel="noopener noreferrer">@m_hernbroth</a>_hernbroth.

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