INSTAMART: POWERING INDIA'S 10-MINUTE ECONOMY

Instamart has transformed quick commerce in India from a bold experiment into a Rs 5,655 crore business that now serves over 11 million monthly users across 125+ cities. CEO Amitesh Jha credits its success to a deep hyperlocal supply chain, AI-powered operations, and a "go deeper, not wider" strategy that prioritizes sustainability, assortment, and trust.

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When Swiggy launched Instamart in 2020, quick commerce wasn't even a term in India. Delivering groceries in minutes felt more like a fantasy than a feasible business model. Even globally, there was no proven framework for such an ambitious concept. Looking back, Amitesh Jha, CEO of Inst-amart at Swiggy Limited admitted, "I didn't give it much credit myself during my e-commerce years. But having brought convenience to food delivery, we at Swiggy saw an even bigger opportunity in grocery—a category 30 times larger. People may not need food delivery every day, but groceries are a daily essential.” What began as an experiment with 2,000-3,000 SKUs focused on top-up or urgent needs quickly evolved into something much bigger. The platform that started with daily staples and fresh produce now caters to an expansive universe of consumer demands. “In 2023, the most searched items on Instamart were bedsheets and pillows, which proved that customers were looking for far more than just groceries,” stated Jha. Today, Instamart offers more than 35,000 products spanning across categories such as makeup, electronics, toys, fashion, pet care, and even gold. In one striking example, a customer in Kerala purchased Rs 8.3 lakh worth of gold through the platform. “We’re now delivering everything from protein powders to pressure cookers in just 10 minutes,” he added.

A Growth Story Like No Other