(Image Source: Inc42)
Albinder Dhindsa has a problem. His company, Blinkit, is winning too hard while everyone else burns too much money trying to catch up. The CEO recently told Bloomberg something that probably surprised people in the industry: the quick-commerce bubble might be about to burst. When the market leader is talking about corrections, everyone else should be nervous.
The Fundraising Treadmill Can’t Last Forever
Quick-commerce companies have been surviving on constant fundraising. Throw money at customers. Burn cash. Raise more money. Repeat. Somewhere along the way, somebody has to actually make money instead of just raising it.
Dhindsa’s point is simple: public market investors won’t keep bankrolling burn rates indefinitely. They want proven business models, not experiments. Swiggy and Zepto are scrambling for capital through placements and IPOs while Blinkit signals that the easy money phase is ending.
The Market Size Trap
Only about one percent of India’s grocery demand has shifted to quick-commerce, yet the market already crossed 64,000 crores in gross order value. That scale makes every investor think they can compete. But there are too many players with too much capital chasing the same customers.
Blinkit operates over 2,000 stores with barely positive margins. Getting to five percent profitability requires something competitors might not have: a way to survive on less funding.
Why Blinkit Has More Breathing Room
The difference is crucial. Blinkit showed profitability last March. That changed investor perception completely. Now it gets capital from Zomato’s balance sheet without constantly begging for new funding rounds.
Swiggy and Zepto don’t have that luxury. They need public market validation. If investor appetite cools, they’re in trouble.
What a Correction Actually Looks Like
Dhindsa’s warning about a sudden correction probably means some players will run out of money before they can raise more. You’ll see fire sales, layoffs, and acquisitions at steep discounts.
Blinkit is built to survive. It has profitability and parent company support. Competitors are hoping their IPOs go through before market conditions worsen.
The Real Game
The addressable market is large enough for multiple winners, but it won’t look like the land-grab phase everyone expected. It will look like what Blinkit is already doing: building sustainable infrastructure, increasing take rates, and generating actual cash instead of burning it.
That’s not exciting compared to ten-minute deliveries and explosive growth. But it’s what separates winners from companies that implode when fundraising stops. Dhindsa knows which category Blinkit is in. His warning is aimed at making sure the rest of the industry figures out which one they’re in before it’s too late.
