From gourmet fruits to artisanal breads, instant grocery delivery is going luxe

From gourmet fruits to ozone-washed greens to artisanal sourdoughs, quick commerce is moving upmarket in search of high-end, better-paying customers to boost their margins.

The latest to join the sprint is food-delivery giant Zomato-owned Blinkit, which is looking to expand its fresh range to include ozone-washed fruits and HACCP-certified produce, as well as handpicked bread and cheese imported from Europe, two people close to the development told Mint.

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a science-based system to control food safety hazards, widely adopted by national regulators.

Doing so will help the platform increase margins and the basket size, they explained.

To be sure, it already has premium sellers such as Urban Platter selling organic produce, just like Swiggy Instamart and Zepto. However, it now plans to source hydroponics and exotic produce directly through exclusive arrangements with sellers.

“Blinkit’s market strength lends itself perfectly to premium produce, satisfying those users who are consistently showing they will pay more for better-quality farm-fresh goods," said one of the two persons, on condition of anonymity.

Blinkit declined to comment on Mint’s queries.

Its rival, Swiggy Instamart, introduced ‘Handpicked’ in June 2024, partnering with local eateries such as Brik Oven and Iyengar’s Bakery—both also available on Blinkit—to offer a range of global delicacies and oriental products. The platform later integrated the vertical with its larger Instamart service.

The category, coupled with the app's business from its private labels such as Noice, has helped drive up its average order value (AOV) to ₹612 in the June quarter of 2025-26 from ₹487 a year ago, as shown in filings with the stock exchanges.

Even Zepto, Amazon Fresh, and Flipkart Minutes are partnering with niche, upscale food and grocery brands.

The shift reflects the push by quick-commerce firms to chart a viable path to profitability by nudging customers toward higher-value, higher-margin baskets.

Gourmet items—typically priced 20-30% higher than mass-market goods—can have a direct impact on their unit economics, pushing AOV upwards of ₹600-700, according to Naveen Malpani, partner-consumer and retail at business consulting firm Grant Thornton Bharat.

“These categories also carry stronger gross margins and reduce reliance on discounting, aligning with the wider premiumization trend that has been driving value growth for packaged consumer goods companies in 2025," Malpani added.

“Importantly, customers who purchase premium produce and meal packs tend to repeat more often and are more open to cross-sell opportunities such as subscriptions and ready-to-cook kits, thereby improving customer lifetime value."

While Blinkit reported an AOV of ₹669, Swiggy Instamart’s stood at ₹612 in the June quarter of 2025-26.

Blinkit's adjusted revenue exceeded ₹2,400 crore in the quarter, while it incurred a net loss of ₹162 crore due to increased investments in quick commerce.

Swiggy Instamart's operating revenue touched ₹806 crore in the same period, while its net loss widened to ₹797 crore against ₹280 crore in the year-ago period.

Value over price

With many urban consumers willing to pay a premium for clean-label produce, a new wave of farm-fresh startups has emerged in recent years.

Online grocery shoppers tend to have a higher affinity for premium fruits and vegetables, as they are generally equated with better quality, said Pratik Gupta, who founded Pluckk in 2021.

“Even though the fresh category has been typically dominated by a stronger offline presence all these years, the advent of quick commerce has changed the game," he said.

Pluckk supplies gourmet meal kits and ozone-washed, non-GMO fresh fruits and vegetables to large quick and e-commerce retailers as well as offline stores.

Anant Goel, a former executive at Reliance Retail-backed Milkbasket, who founded Handpickd in April 2024, said many users are willing to wait a few extra hours for better produce, with a large part of this shift stemming from growing quality concerns about quick-commerce products.

Handpickd’s next-day delivery service sources produce directly from farmers and delivers to homes.

Private investors are also buying into the promise, happily sanctioning large investments in these startups.

On 25 September, Handpickd raised $15 million from Bertelsmann India Investments. Earlier in September, FirstClub, founded by former Cleartrip chief executive Ayyappan R., secured $23 million from existing backers Accel and RTP Global, nearly tripling its valuation $120 million after eight months of its seed funding.

Actor Kareena Kapoor-backed Pluckk raised a $10 million Series A round from Euro Gulf Investment in March.

“We also feel that in our business, the customer is extremely value-conscious, but not price-conscious. And we try our hardest to deliver the best value to the customer—which is a function of speed, assortment, customer support, and price—in that order. This enables us to make money from all of our customer cohorts, which further enables us to improve upon delivering on our customers’ expectations from us," Albinder Dhindsa, Blinkit’s CEO, told shareholders while announcing the June-quarter results.

Easier said than done

But structural challenges persist.

Over the past few months, the breakneck expansion of quick-commerce platforms has raised hygiene concerns at dark stores, with reports of fungal growth on fresh produce and an increasing number of expired products prompting scrutiny from the food safety regulator.

“While this expansion is largely strategic, it must be paired with investments in operational improvements to ensure product quality, including enhanced dark-store hygiene, stringent cold-chain management, and best practices in sourcing and handling," said Grant Thornton Bharat’s Malpani.

With a shorter shelf life, these products require careful handling and reliable cold-chain storage, which may necessitate additional investment. Supply chains for fresh and perishable items are also complex—from sourcing and storage to last-mile delivery—making fulfilment costs per order high, especially if average order values do not rise enough to offset these extra operational expenses, according to Malpani.