Blinkit, Instamart chart different paths to profitable growth

ET Intelligence Group: The September 2026 earnings of Eternal and Swiggy reinforced the key trend: while food delivery continued to gain momentum, quick commerce remained a key growth driver. However, the two companies are pursuing distinctly different strategies.

Eternal is scaling up Blinkit aggressively, combining strong growth with improving profitability. Blinkit added 308 net new stores during the quarter, taking its network to 2,751 stores, and plans to expand this to over 3,500 stores by March 2027 and around 5,000 stores by March 2028. The company believes quick-commerce adoption is spreading beyond metros, with Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities showing encouraging customer behaviour and store economics.

Swiggy, in contrast, is focused on improving the quality of growth. Instamart added 69 net stores during the quarter, taking its network to 1,240 stores, while the company believes that significant growth opportunities remain within the 130-plus cities where it already operates. Its strategy centres on improving throughput per store, customer retention and order frequency. Investments in private-label brands such as NOICE and Nectr and customer habit-building initiatives are aimed at driving deeper engagement and supporting long-term profitability.


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Another pillar of Swiggy's future strategy is Toing, its value-focused food delivery platform. The company believes the product is helping expand the overall food-delivery market rather than merely shifting users from the core Swiggy app. The company indicated that successful execution of Toing could potentially lift food-delivery segment's growth to 25-30% from the current 18-20% range. Early indicators such as retention trends, repeat usage and improving unit economics in some cities, have encouraged continued investments in the platform.

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Food delivery also remained a stable profitability lever. Eternal reported accelerating growth in food delivery for atleast fifth consecutive quarter, while Swiggy delivered record profitability in the segment. Both companies expect close to 20% annual growth in gross order value for this segment.