IPO-Bound Zepto Eyes Premium Grocery Segment To Take On Blinkit, Instamart

In a bid to expand its offerings ahead of its public market debut, Zepto is reportedly exploring the launch of premium grocery service — Select — within its app.

The service, which is expected to launch in the coming weeks, will have a separate tab offering focused around imported food, gourmet groceries and other premium products, Moneycontrol reported, citing sources.

Zepto has begun talks with premium brands to onboard products for Select after a pilot in select areas drew an encouraging response, the report added. Sources told Inc42 that the offering is still in a very nascent stage and the name is yet to be finalised. 

The company is also looking to price some imported and premium products below prices offered by its rivals.

Quick Commerce Goes Premium

Zepto’s reported premiumisation bid aligns with the broader industry push of platforms increasingly targeting premium categories to lift order values and margins. 

Quick commerce companies are pushing deeper into premium groceries as fierce competition forces them to look beyond the low-value, frequent purchases that fuelled their early growth. Higher-priced products offer a way to draw wealthier consumers and increase average order values.

A few days back, quick commerce incumbent Blinkit began piloting Gourmet, a premium grocery offering, in select pincodes across Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and Mumbai. Blinkit Gourmet offers premium products such as artisanal cheeses, breads and ozone-washed produce through about five dedicated dark stores across Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai.

The company has reportedly also onboarded several niche brands and could expand the pilot to more cities if the format gains traction.

Inc42 has reached out to Zepto and Blinkit for comments on their reported premium offerings, the story will be updated upon receiving their responses. 

On the other hand, Swiggy Instamart has also expanded its gourmet assortment through a dedicated section for premium and imported products.

Zepto’s Road To The Public Markets

For Zepto, the move comes at a time when the quick commerce major is looking to shore up its top line and improve its bottom line performance in the run up to its public markets debut, which is slated for later this year. 

Zepto filed its updated draft red herring prospectus (UDRHP) for its planned IPO, asZepto’s proposed IPO will include a fresh issue of shares worth ₹8,010 Cr. A majority of the fresh proceeds netted from the IPO would help the company expand its dark store network. It plans to spend ₹1,629 Cr to set up 1,904 dark stores by FY30 and ₹1,734.9 Cr on dark store lease payments.

Another ₹1,324.8 Cr has been earmarked for tech and cloud infrastructure, while ₹520 Cr will go towards marketing and promotional initiatives through its marketplace subsidiary. The remaining proceeds will be used for unidentified acquisitions and general corporate purposes.

Zepto has concentrated its expansion on India’s top 40 to 60 cities, with order volumes growing at a CAGR of 119.4% between FY24 and FY26.

As of March 2026, Zepto operated 1,139 dark stores, roughly level with Swiggy Instamart’s 1,143 but below Blinkit’s 2,243. It processed 23.3 Lakh orders a day, against 30.4 Lakh at Blinkit.

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