Gramiyaa, a premium cold-pressed edible oil brand, now earns 35% of its ₹5 Cr monthly recurring revenue from quick commerce, making it the company's largest channel. It listed on Blinkit in 2024.
The entry was costly. Cofounder Mohamed Yaseen says the founders hesitated for nearly a year because the brand ran on a profit margin of 2-3%. As a small, unproven name, it paid about twice the commission of a national cooking oil brand, and about 1.3 times what a national premium oil brand paid, by his comparison. Brands starting out with three to four SKUs may be expected to spend ₹5-10 Lakh a month on advertising before demand is established.
The channel stayed loss-making for nearly six months after listing. Yaseen says most brands that do reasonably well on quick commerce barely break even or lose money for six months to a year. He says Gramiyaa could absorb the losses because it had raised funding by then. Brands without that capital often pause or exit the channel, he adds.
Commissions eased once demand was proven. When monthly sales rose from ₹5 Lakh to ₹10-15 Lakh and repeat purchases showed customers would switch apps, the platforms began treating Gramiyaa more like a large brand. Its margins moved gradually closer to those paid by national brands.
Yaseen argues quick commerce is not necessarily dearer than other routes. On a ₹400 product where the brand keeps ₹300, the remaining ₹100 goes to platform margins and advertising. In traditional retail, a similar sum could go to distributors, retailers and a sales team. The harder problem for small brands, he says, is funding the early losses.
Gramiyaa began in 2018 as an offline business in Chennai selling unbranded oil through five to six shops. Yaseen, Naveenrajamaran RL and Sibi Manivannan built the current company in 2022. Quick commerce rewards sales velocity and local availability, unlike Amazon, where ranking does not depend on where customers live.
