India's vertical quick-commerce startups are redefining what 'quick' means as they move away from ultra-fast delivery to focus on better assortment, sharper curation, stronger supply chains and healthier unit economics. According to reports from Mint, baby care platform Ozi, backed by Blume Ventures and RTP Global, has settled on a roughly 60-minute delivery promise rather than chasing ultra-fast deliveries. Founder Amit Sah argues that customers today are looking for reliable availability and curated choices rather than insisting on receiving products in 10 minutes.
The strategic shift comes as the sector enters a more pragmatic phase, with quick fashion startup Blip shutting down within a year of launch last June, while rival Klydo has recently pivoted its business model. As reported by Mint, the crop of vertical quick commerce startups—focused on rapid delivery within specific categories—has largely emerged over the past two years, inspired by grocery-focused pioneers such as Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto. Kalaari Capital noted in its 2025 report that quick commerce had already captured about two-thirds of online grocery orders and around 10% of India's overall e-retail spending in 2024.
Fashion startups are investing heavily in discovery and inventory refreshes, while Ozi believes the opportunity in baby care lies in curation and premiumisation. According to Mint reports, Sah said each sub-category within baby care presents different operational challenges, with consumables requiring deep availability of long-tail brands and fashion depending on filtering products for quality. Slikk founder Akshay Gulati said the company's focus since inception has been building a wide catalogue rather than aggressively acquiring users, claiming stronger assortment has helped steadily reduce acquisition costs.
The changing strategies reflect growing investor scrutiny of unit economics, with investors increasingly wanting proof that businesses can balance growth with profitability. As reported by Mint, Slikk's Gulati said investors continue to back the category but increasingly want proof that businesses can balance growth with profitability rather than relying on heavy customer acquisition spending. Knot's co-founder Archit Nanda said fashion combines high average order values with healthy margins, making the category attractive despite its complexity.
According to Devangshu Dutta, founder and chief executive of consultancy Third Eyesight, 'Speed was never a real moat but became a hygiene factor once every significant player could promise 10-30 minute delivery'. As reported by Mint, he noted that 'Assortment depth, availability, trust, and sustained price-value have been, and will remain, the true differentiation levers'. The expert analysis suggests that for categories such as medicines and baby products, credibility and compliance outweigh saved minutes, while fashion faces high return rates due to product mismatch against customer expectations.
