When quick commerce became all the rage at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, no one was convinced that the 10-minute grocery delivery format would be sustainable. After all, Amazon was already going deeper into same-day and next-day delivery and Walmart-owned Flipkart was attempting to follow suit.

But as new players like Zepto and Blinkit rewire customer expectations and set industry standards, convenience has emerged as a core component for driving success across Indian retail, the world’s third-largest market after China and the US.

Globally, the quick commerce opportunity is estimated to reach $303.3 Bn by 2030, from $38.9 Bn in 2023, at a CAGR of 34.1% during the forecast period. However, the widespread consumer use of quick commerce has not always spelt well for emerging e-tailers or direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands in India, says Madhav Kasturia, founder & CEO of Zippee, a fulfilment platform enabling same-day delivery for digital-first consumer brands & marketplaces across India — via their own websites.

“Over a lakh of India’s brands face a myriad of obstacles when partnering with quick commerce platforms: Category limitations, opaque listing process, unsupportive category managers, hefty platform commissions and reduced visibility against category leaders are just some of them. With limited resources and brand recognition, breaking through a fiercely competitive market is an uphill battle,” he added.

D2C brands are often required to pay high commission on sales to list on q-commerce platforms, while larger established FMCGs enjoy more favourable terms and conditions. The reason: brand leverage. A highly-funded, growth stage brand may still get by, but what about those in their 0-10 journey?

The D2C dilemma is bound to make the q-commerce listing decision quite tricky. On one hand, brands can open yet another door (currently touted as the hottest new distribution channel) for their customers to drive incremental sales. On the other, most brands on the platforms are not making sustainable tailwinds, with skyrocketing commissions eating into their margins.

Kasturia identified these issues early in the day and claims to have found the sweet spot, a midway between traditional courier delivery times that take three days and the cost-intensive 10-minute hustle.

Zippee provides a same-day delivery window for D2C brands powered by q-commerce-like dark stores, dedicated in-house teams for last-mile deliveries and a tech ecosystem required to run such a delivery network.

For instance, the startup has maximised operational efficiency by using optimal inventory........

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