D2C Insider Pulse | Quick Commerce
Getting listed on Blinkit or Swiggy Instamart may give a D2C brand access to millions of potential customers. But visibility does not necessarily translate into sales. Products need to be available when consumers search for them, inventory must move quickly, and every rupee spent on commissions and advertising must justify its return.
Gramiyaa, a premium cold-pressed oil brand, learnt this after entering quick commerce through Blinkit in 2024. What followed was nearly six months of losses, expensive platform commissions and a significant rethink of how the company managed its products.
Today, quick commerce contributes 35% of Gramiyaa’s business, making it the brand’s largest revenue channel, according to co-founder Mohamed Yaseen. Its biggest learning, however, had little to do with digital marketing. It was about understanding how supermarkets manage inventory, demand and product availability.
### From Marketplace Listings To Neighbourhood-Level Demand
Gramiyaa’s journey began with a traditional oil business in Chennai before the founders built a consumer-facing brand. After establishing its own website and entering Amazon in November 2022, the company began exploring quick commerce as another avenue for growth.
The economics initially made the move difficult. According to Yaseen, Gramiyaa faced commissions nearly twice those paid by established national brands. With operating margins of just 2-3% at the time, the additional advertising commitments of ₹5-10 lakh a month made entering the channel a considerable financial risk.
The brand eventually took the plunge, but realised that its existing e-commerce playbook would not work.
Unlike Amazon, where a central warehouse can serve customers across India, quick commerce depends on inventory at individual dark stores. A product that sells well in one neighbourhood may struggle in another. If demand is inconsistent, platforms have little reason to allocate additional stock.
Gramiyaa responded by tracking product availability and sales performance at the city and pin-code level. What initially involved manually checking search results and stock availability has evolved into a more structured process using commerce analytics tools.
The objective was to concentrate inventory in locations where demand was already strong rather than distribute limited stock across multiple markets.
The brand now targets 90% on-shelf availability and typically achieves 85-90%, according to Yaseen.
Why Fewer SKUs Sometimes Mean More Sales
Inventory allocation also changed how Gramiyaa approached its product portfolio.
Its half-litre groundnut oil bottle initially attracted customers looking for smaller quantities. However, stocking both half-litre and one-litre packs divided the inventory available at dark stores.
The company eventually prioritised the one-litre pack, choosing consistent availability for its larger customer base over catering to every purchasing preference.
Not every product made the cut either. One of its four oil offerings struggled because its pricing was not competitive enough for its core southern Indian customer base.
Advertising received a similar rethink. Instead of spending uniformly across products, Gramiyaa began identifying locations and SKUs where paid visibility could genuinely improve sales, rather than promoting products already ranking well organically.
The broader opportunity is significant. India’s quick-commerce market reached approximately $9 billion in gross merchandise value in the first half of 2026, with the channel increasingly expanding beyond its original metro grocery audience.
The Next Test Lies Beyond Metros
Gramiyaa’s next growth opportunity lies in Tier II markets, where quick commerce can offer access to premium products that may not be readily available through neighbourhood retailers.
The brand recently raised ₹18.65 crore in a Series A funding round led by Optiscape Network Holdings, with participation from Homegrown Ventures and Campus Fund, among others. The company plans to deploy the capital towards growth and expansion.
However, entering new markets will require the same discipline that helped it establish itself in metros: understanding local demand, selecting the right products and ensuring consistent inventory availability.
For emerging D2C brands, Yaseen’s advice is to establish a dependable business through their own website or marketplaces before committing to quick commerce. Knowing the hero products, getting pricing right and having sufficient liquidity are essential before entering a channel that can take months to become financially viable.
Gramiyaa’s experience demonstrates that quick commerce is not simply another digital sales channel. It is a retail distribution business operating at neighbourhood-level speed. And for smaller brands competing against established FMCG players, the ability to stay consistently available may matter just as much as the ability to attract customers.
Sources: Inc42, Entrackr, publicly available company information and independent editorial research and analysis,
