🍦Who needs a freezer?
Ecommerce index, Battery power, Cya Skype, Solo Reels
Hi Surgies 👋
While everyone became a geopolitics expert on Whatsapp last week, our very own Nfty introduced the Nifty India Internet & E-Commerce Index- a thematic benchmark tracking companies that primarily operate through online platforms. The index comprises 21 constituents with Zomato holding the highest weight at 20.3%, followed by Info Edge at 18.83% and PB Fintech at 16.72%.
Let’s not discuss anything more related to the stock market 😞 and dive into our regular fare right away…
🗞️Marketplace Buzz
Blinkit just got another ₹1,500 Cr cash boost from Zomato to keep its quick commerce hustle alive. With aggressive expansion & mounting losses, this funding fuels its turf war against Zepto & Instamart. Total Zomato investment so far? A whopping ₹4,300 Cr since the 2022 acquisition. Will all this cash finally turn speed into profits? ⏳🔥
Battery Power: Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart & Flipkart’s Minutes are plugging into EVs to cut delivery costs. 🚲⚡ This EV shift is fueling startups like EMO Energy & BatterySmart, which are powering up charging & battery-swapping infra. EMO already supplies 90% of its batteries to quick commerce and has set up fast charging at 200+ Blinkit & BigBasket stores. The race for faster, cheaper, and greener deliveries is on!
Flipkart is shutting down its full-stack e-commerce enabler, ANS Commerce, three years after acquiring the Gurugram-based company. ANS Commerce provided services like store tech, performance marketing, and warehousing to over 100 brands. The move aligns with Flipkart’s shift away from managing D2C ecommerce solutions and doubling down on core operations.
The Delhi High Court has ordered Amazon to pay ₹340 crore in damages for infringing on the 'Beverly Hills Polo Club' trademark. The court found that Amazon, along with its affiliate Cloudtail India sold products under the "Symbol" brand featuring a logo nearly identical to the registered 'Beverly Hills Polo Club' mark.
Qcomm’s the new Kirana? With 42% of metro consumers now hooked on rapid deliveries, traditional shopping is taking a hit. 65% rely on quick commerce for essentials, leading to a 28% drop in foot traffic at physical stores. But while metros chase speed, Tier II & III cities still swear by local shops for that good old personalized service. 🏪⚡
🍕D2C Snippets
Earthful, a Hyderabad-based D2C plant-based nutrition startup, has raised Rs 5 Cr in funding. The brand offers 100% natural supplements free from chemicals and additives, focusing on science-backed formulations. The fresh capital will be utilised for research and development of new products, strengthening the brand's presence, and building a strong leadership team across marketing and operations.
Cheap won’t cut it anymore! India’s smartwatch boom just hit a speed bump, with shipments dropping 30% in 2024, thanks to a lack of innovation & meh user experience. While mass-market demand cooled, the premium ₹20K+ segment surged 147% YoY, as buyers chased better tech over budget buys. Noise led the pack with a 27% share, while Fire-Boltt (-54%) & boAt (-47%) took major hits.⌚📉
New-age ice cream brands are melting the old rules, scaling fast with instant deliveries & investor interest. NIC, Go Zero, NOTO & Minus30 are turning every home into an ice cream parlor- because who needs a freezer when you have a 10-minute delivery? But it’s not all sweet- high commissions & platform dependency mean quick commerce is both a blessing & a brain freeze. 🥶🍦
Oral-care brand Perfora is smiling all the way (almost to the bank)- revenue skyrocketed 30X from Rs 1.4 Cr in FY22 to Rs 42 Cr in FY24. The losses more than doubled to Rs 10.6 Cr from Rs 5 Cr in FY23. With a range of personalized electric toothbrushes, toothpaste & alcohol-free mouthwashes, the brand is redefining oral care. Perfora has raised a total of $4 million of funding to date 😁
Home décor brand Ritualistic just secured $1M in funding to scale its India-inspired designs. Founded in 2018 by Shashank & Neha Jain, the brand has built a niche with premium, tradition-rooted décor. Now, with a loyal customer base across 250+ cities in India & beyond, Ritualistic is set to make heritage a statement piece.
Amantyacare Scores Big with Rishabh Pant’s Backing. Skincare startup Amantyacare bagged pre-seed funding from cricketer Rishabh Pant! 🏏Founded in October 2024 by Meenal Khanna Kwatra, the brand tackles pigmentation, acne & sensitivity—all while staying affordable (under ₹2,000). With a focus on Tier I & II cities, Amantyacare is making good skincare accessible to all.
📚Reads & Recommendations
Credit card usage in India continues to rise, with spending surging by 10.8% year-on-year to ₹1.84 trillion in January 2025.
More ad toys from Amazon for the India region. Search Query Performance ( and Catalog Performance) has made its way to the API! Get your dashboards updated.
The Landing has only one goal, get people to buy your product. Here are some ideas for building landing pages and funnels.
It’s your last chance to Skype someone. Microsoft bought Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011 and will be soon shutting down the service.
Like Justin Timberlake, Reels is looking to go solo. Meta is considering breaking this section of Instagram off into its own app
🔥That’s all for this week! As always, share this with your fellow D2C hustlers, and let’s keep the community growing.
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