Quick commerce companies are now operating on a no profit no loss model, according to a sourcing executive of a platform
A partnership between quick commerce companies like Blinkit, Zepto with farmer producers organisations (FPOs) developed in last few years has addressed the price gap between what farmers receive and what consumers pay for horticulture products.
For instance, Sambhal Swarnim Potato FPO of Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh has seen real growth from the partnership – its turnover rising to ₹15 crore from ₹12 crore in 2024-25 after launching the collective in December 2022 under the Centre’s 10,000 FPO scheme. Over a thousand farmer-member connected with this FPO are happy that they receive ₹2-2.50/kg higher rate than local mandi (agriculture market yard) for their potatoes.
The quick commerce companies are also pleased to see a constant growth – daily potato procurement in the national capital region of a leading delivery platform is 130-150 tonne. Some other platforms are buying even more, but refused to share data.
Deepak Kumar, MD of Sambhal Swarnim Potato FPO, confirmed delivery of 15 tonne of potato at about ₹15/kg to Kiranakart Wholesale, a group company of Zepto that handles wholesale procurement and distribution and 13 tonne to Zomato Hyperpure, the B2B arm of Blinkit, at their respective warehouses in Sonipat, Haryana, on July 7, when prevailing rates in nearby mandis were ₹9-12/kg on that day. In contrast, the mandi rate of potato (grade A) in Aligarh and Sambhal on July 7 was about ₹ 7-8/kg and ₹6-7/kg, respectively.
Nasir Noor Ahmed, a potato farmer of Sambhal associated with the FPO since inception, said he received ₹11/kg from it and the payment is received in maximum five days. For the same quality he would not have got more than ₹8.50/kg from local mandi. Aligarh’s Mahesh, who is a regular seller of potato to the FPO, also echoed similar sentiments on higher realisation than selling at mandis.
Kumar, who has taken on lease a 10,000 square feet warehouse at a monthly rental of ₹2.16 lakh in Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) to cater to demand in NCR, said that transporting potato from Sambhal to a warehouse in Sonipat via Greater Noida, where grading and sorting is done, costs ₹2.50-3/kg.
Asked on how this is a sustainable business model to purchase at higher than mandi rate while still remaining competitive in retail market, a sourcing executive of a platform said, “Currently we are operating on a no profit no loss model. Eliminating all middlemen by procuring through an FPO and supplying directly to consumers help us to sell even at lower than market rates at times. The main reason to avoid any loss is the ‘return to vendor’ (RTV) clause and buying only grade ‘A’ quality of F&V.”
Explaining further, he said for each vegetable the platform is working with 5-8 FPOs and they all agree to take back any quantity if it is rejected on quality. So, these FPOs are ensuring only best quality products are sold, he added.
According to UDRHP filed by Zepto, which is planning for an IPO, it has built a vertically integrated F&V platform with a Farmer Partner Network, collection centres across major growing hubs, and capabilities across sourcing, packaging, cold storage and transportation logistics.
“By sourcing closer to FPOs, farmer partners and collection centres, the model reduces intermediary layers, handling delays and wastage. That is what creates room for better producer realisation while keeping the channel efficient for Zepto,” a source said. The intent is not to pay more in isolation, but to ensure a larger share of value reaches the producer by removing avoidable leakage from the chain, the source added.
Published on July 12, 2026
