Supply Chain
Dark-store space crunch before festive forces snacks and sweets makers onto B2B marketplaces and kirana-modern trade routes.
Farhan Qureshi, Supply chain correspondent··4 min read
Direct-to-consumer food brands are expanding general and modern trade presence after quick-commerce platforms limited new-launch space ahead of the festive season. Companies such as WellBe, Khetika and Lal Sweets are using B2B marketplaces to reach neighbourhood stores and supermarkets. General trade still holds 76 per cent of packaged-food sales.
Quick-commerce dark stores are prioritising proven SKUs, leaving little room for fresh festive launches. D2C food players have turned to B2B platforms that let kiranas and small modern-trade outlets test small quantities without full distributor networks. WellBe already counts 18,000 touchpoints across channels.
A kirana owner can now scan a B2B app, order two cases of a new healthy snack, and put it on the counter the same week. That beats waiting for a dark-store slot that may never open. Marketing spend drops compared with quick-commerce visibility fees.
Quick-commerce DCs are almost full; new launches are moving to general and modern trade.
The shift helps modern-trade chains and general-trade wholesalers gain assortment depth while quick-commerce platforms keep velocity high on bestsellers. Pure D2C brands that stayed online-only lose festive volume. Private-label snacks on Blinkit and Zepto face more offline competition.
Diwali gifting and corporate hampers will show the offline lift. Watch October listing numbers on B2B platforms and any restocking data from Metro Cash & Carry style formats.
Filed under Supply Chain·Farhan Qureshi
Readers' mark
Be the first to mark this story.
Ask the desk
Signed-in readers can put a question to the desk. We file a short take on this story — not a press release.
Supply Chain
Warehousing capacity jumps 50 per cent and last-mile reach widens for Big Billion Days and remote same-day.
Farhan Qureshi · 2 Oct · 4 min read
Supply Chain
Logistics arm lifts national storage 50 percent and peak processing over 30 percent ahead of Big Billion Days.
Farhan Qureshi · 1 Oct · 4 min read
Supply Chain
Wholesale arm reaches 20,000-plus pincodes and over 90 percent of India, lifting institutional and small-city reach.
Farhan Qureshi · 14 Sep · 4 min read