Zepto Bets on Premium Grocery With Launch of Select
Zepto is set to introduce Select, an exclusive in-app service that provides a selection of curated imported and high-end grocery items, after testing it in several areas.
The company has started integrating premium brands and is anticipated to launch the service in the upcoming weeks, prior to its initial public offering (IPO).
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The launch will position Zepto as the final one among India’s three largest quick-commerce platforms to establish a specialized premium storefront, as the industry shifts towards higher-value items to enhance order values that have stabilized in its primary markets.
Eternal-owned Blinkit started testing a premium service named Gourmet last week in specific pincodes of Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Mumbai, offering artisanal cheeses and breads along with ozone-washed fruits and vegetables.
Gourmet operates on a distinct network of approximately five dedicated dark stores — two in Delhi, two in Bengaluru, and one in Mumbai — designed solely to house premium products.
Additionally, it features a specialized Imported Store in its primary app, containing imported and high-end branded items. Swiggy’s Instamart was the first to enter the segment. It introduced Handpicked in December 2022 as an exclusive, next-day service in Bengaluru, offering imported and rare local items, before shutting it down in mid-2023.
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By early 2024, InsanelyGood, the upscale grocery division and the new identity of SuprDaily, which was acquired by Swiggy in 2018, integrated into Instamart as Handpicked. Instamart has since developed the most extensive premium framework of the three.
It features a specialized Gourmet section that contains imported branded items as well as unique fruits and vegetables offered under Nectr, its private label. Its alternative private label, NOICE, introduced in mid-2025, currently features over 400 products across more than 25 categories.
The advantage has been seen in the size of baskets. Instamart increased its average order value to Rs 700 in Q4FY26, up from Rs 527 the previous year. The rest have come to a halt. Blinkit's net average order value stood at Rs 525 in the fourth quarter of FY26, compared to Rs 520 the previous year, while its average monthly transacting customers surged to 27.2 million from 13.7 million.
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According to its IPO filings, Zepto reports the smallest basket size at Rs 387.
The platforms are venturing into a sector where smaller startups have gained considerable investor interest and customer engagement. FirstClub, located in Bengaluru, secured $55 million in June during a funding round chaired by Peak XV Partners and Sofina, achieving a valuation of approximately $255 million, which brings its overall funding to about $86 million.
It asserts an average order value around Rs 1,200, which is more than double that of the major platforms. FirstClub, Origin Fresh, Handpickd, Pluckk, Freshly, and LoveLocal have together secured over $130 million. This effort arises as geographic opportunities are diminishing at the peak.
Metro dark-store penetration has surpassed 106 percent of the potential market, with 99 percent coverage of metro pincodes, as per a Bernstein analysis. Tier-II penetration is at 48 percent and Tier-III at 22 percent — areas with reduced order densities and a tendency for value purchases in baskets.