Beauty Brands Go Quick Commerce-First

Quick commerce has become a dominant force in India’s beauty and personal care (BPC) brands, with some brands now entirely dependent on this channel for growth. Beauty product sales on quick commerce have grown at an impressive 90% annually, reaching roughly $1 billion in annualized gross merchandise value (GMV), according to Redseer. Industry experts predict the channel will grow to 25-30% of online BPC sales by the end of FY30.

Karan Taurani, executive vice president at Elara Capital, explains that BPC is a natural progression for quick commerce platforms due to the premium gross margins and EBITDA margins of beauty products. However, while quick commerce is gaining ground, traditional ecommerce marketplaces like Nykaa, Myntra, Amazon, and Flipkart are still critical for shoppers to compare and discover new products, especially those with higher price tags.

D2C brands are recalibrating their strategies to optimize for both quick commerce and ecommerce channels. This includes adjusting their SKU sizing, marketing budgets, and product development to cater to the unique consumption patterns on quick commerce platforms, which often involve faster stockouts. Brands are customizing their SKUs, pricing, and packaging to suit these replenishment cycles, often creating special packs for quick commerce apps like Blinkit, Zepto, and Instamart. However, there is a risk of stockouts, which can harm brand visibility and return on advertising.