From groceries to gadgets: BigBasket lays groundwork for Tata Group’s multi-category quick commerce push

From groceries to gadgets: BigBasket lays groundwork for Tata Group’s multi-category quick commerce push

BigBasket, once synonymous with slotted online grocery delivery, is quietly orchestrating a bold transformation, one that could redefine how Tata Group brands tap into the quick commerce wave.

At the heart of this shift is a new playbook BigBasket is calling multi-category quick commerce (MC/QC). The idea is to leverage BigBasket’s existing dark stores, warehouses, and last-mile fleet to enable Tata-owned brands like Croma, Titan, 1mg, Qmin, and others to offer fast delivery of their products, all under one seamless platform.

“Under this arrangement, inventory is fungible. Since we have the Tata network, we can partner with Croma, for instance, and be their quick commerce layer,” BigBasket co-founder and CEO Hari Menon told Moneycontrol.

“There’s also an arrangement where a Croma or 1mg store can double up as a dark store for BigBasket, which is unique to us. Our partners have a deep geographical understanding of the smallest PIN codes, which no one else will have,” he added.

This approach enables the company to tap into the local expertise and infrastructure of its Tata counterparts, while acting as the last-mile engine across categories.

Expanding the basket

The MC/QC model isn’t theoretical; it’s already live in parts. It began with a pilot last year with Croma for the iPhone 16 launch on BB Now. 

“Customers were already searching for iPhones. When we launched them with Croma, demand spiked on day one,” said Seshu Kumar Tirumala, Chief Buying and Merchandising Officer at BigBasket.

That pilot has now become a category. As per Tirumala, electronics now contribute 7–8 percent of BigBasket’s overall sales, a significant shift for a platform built on dal and detergent.

Following electronics, BigBasket added fashion. A tie-up with Jockey brought in innerwear and basic apparel, followed by a curated rollout of footwear. “Fashion is trickier than electronics. So we’re doing it in a calibrated way, testing products, evaluating traction, and then scaling,” Tirumala said.

The company has also partnered with Tata 1mg to bring pharmacy products into quick commerce. Instead of just warehousing medicines, BigBasket is co-locating regulation-compliant pharmacies within or near its dark stores, allowing customers to receive groceries and prescriptions in a single order. “These pharmacies are managed entirely by 1mg. We provide the infrastructure and do the last-mile delivery,” Tirumala added. The model is live across 40 locations in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai.

To round out its offering, BigBasket has stepped into food delivery, partnering with Tata Group-owned Qmin and Starbucks. Qmin operates out of select BigBasket dark stores in Bengaluru, with plans to expand to 40 locations. Some of the company’s stores also serve Starbucks coffee delivered in 10 minutes or less.

Unified app, Tata-first focus

A key feature of BigBasket’s strategy is that, unlike rivals with separate verticals or apps, all categories, from electronics to pharmacy, are integrated into the company’s main app.

“From the customer’s perspective, it’s a seamless BigBasket experience,” Tirumala said. The company does not hold inventory in most cases, brands like Croma, Jockey, and 1mg manage stock and regulatory compliance, while BigBasket handles logistics.

While the initial rollout has focused on Tata brands, the model isn’t exclusive to the group. “There’s no restriction. It’s just easier to execute within the group,” Tirumala said. The commercial arrangements vary, from pure logistics fees to revenue-share models depending on category complexity.

New bets amid intensifying rivalry

The MC/QC push comes at a pivotal time for Tata Digital, the umbrella housing BigBasket, 1mg, and Tata Cliq. As Moneycontrol exclusively reported, Tata Sons is injecting $400 million into Tata Digital — drawn from its dividend earnings from TCS — to stabilise and reboot the digital arm.

Despite spending over $2 billion since 2021, Tata Digital’s super app ambitions haven’t scaled as expected. Meanwhile, competitive intensity in quick commerce is rising sharply. Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes, and Amazon Now are rapidly expanding dark store networks to grab market share.

These players are also racing to broaden their category mix. As Blinkit and Zepto diversify into premium electronics, jewellery, and beauty, BigBasket’s MC/QC strategy is an attempt to productise this expansion across Tata’s ecosystem — not just list more products, but plug into a deeper fulfilment layer.

Notably, BigBasket isn’t the only quick commerce player tweaking its offerings.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that Blinkit will shift to an inventory-led model, starting September 1 — meaning it will directly hold and sell select SKUs. Moneycontrol had exclusively reported on this shift, which marks a major move toward vertical integration.

In contrast, BigBasket is testing a shared-control model, where it enables quick commerce capabilities for others without owning product risk. Whether this scales as efficiently remains to be seen.

Still, as rivals go full-stack, BigBasket is quietly positioning itself as a platform-as-a-service — a last-mile pipe for the Tata Group and beyond. If the MCQC strategy delivers, BB Now could evolve into a true multi-category destination — from daily essentials to impulse buys, festive specials, and more.

And in doing so, it may just help Tata Digital rewrite its digital playbook — one 10-minute delivery at a time.