While quick-commerce is great for the urban consumer, is it a level playing field for consumer brands (especially the newer ones)..

It’s no secret that quick commerce has redefined everyday shopping in urban India (especially for the consuming class in tier 1 and 2 cities). It’s ultra convenient, as it brings the shop to your doorstep in 10-20 minutes. And unlike failed models in other markets, the Indian players seem to have cracked the unit economics (cheaper labour playing a big role).

FMCG brands are talking about the market-shift, from the older e-commerce platforms to the newer q-commerce players (for specific categories of products, which has now expanded from groceries to electronics, beauty products as well). It’s no wonder that even the likes of Amazon and Flipkart now want a piece of the pie that Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy have created and are growing at pace!

While this is all great news for consumers, this has created a challenge for new consumer brands (especially those catering to everyday urban consumption).

On an Amazon or Flipkart, a new brand can list their products and let the market determine the success. Amazon and Flipkart will give them that bare initial visibility, as long as you meet the hygiene conditions for listing.

On a Swiggy, Blinkit or Zepto on the other hand, that ‘bare initial visibility’ is not a given. Unlike ‘regular e-commerce’ where the seller on the platform is the ‘brand’ itsels, in ‘q-commerce’ the seller on the platform is the ‘platform’.

Hence only the platform decides which brands (from a specific product category) make the cut for listing. They will only pick what they deem good enough and rightly so (based on market demand, their awareness of brands etc.).

Only this makes it extra hard, for up-and-coming brands that are still trying to get their name and products out there. They need to get listed on these platforms, and yet it can become a bit of a chicken and egg situation. Bringing out hustle like what Aathi and team @Cookd are trying (see first comment below) to get noticed by a top platform.

As q-commerce continues to grow and dominate market-share in urban consumption, this issue will need to be considered and addressed.