Blinkit’s Rapid Expansion Fuels Eternal’s Topline Growth, Signals Strategic Shift

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Blinkit, the quick commerce arm of Eternal Limited (formerly Zomato), has emerged as a significant driver of its parent company’s revenue, showcasing robust growth that is outstripping even the well-established food delivery business. For the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, Blinkit’s impressive performance has become central to Eternal’s topline expansion, indicating a strategic pivot towards the burgeoning quick commerce sector.

Eternal Limited, a prominent Indian e-commerce entity, reported a consolidated revenue growth of 67% year-on-year (YoY) to reach ₹7,167 crore for Q1 FY26. A substantial portion of this growth is directly attributable to Blinkit, which saw its revenue surge by 155% YoY to ₹2,400 crore. This marks a pivotal moment as Blinkit’s net order value (NOV) for the first time surpassed that of Zomato’s food delivery service for an entire quarter, underlining the rapid scaling and increasing importance of quick commerce within Eternal’s diverse portfolio.

The growth in Blinkit’s operations is fueled by an aggressive expansion strategy, including the addition of 243 new dark stores in Q1, bringing the total count to 1,544. The company aims to further increase this to 2,000 stores by December 2025. This expansion reflects Blinkit’s focus on deepening its presence in existing markets rather than broad geographic expansion, a strategy articulated by Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa. This approach allows for greater density of service and faster delivery times, crucial for the quick commerce model.

While Blinkit’s revenue surge is a clear positive for Eternal’s topline, the rapid expansion comes with associated costs. The company’s Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) declined by 42% YoY to ₹172 crore, largely due to ongoing investments in both the quick commerce and “going-out” segments. Notably, Blinkit reported an EBITDA loss of ₹162 crore in Q1 FY26, a significant increase from the ₹3 crore loss in the year-ago period, though it narrowed slightly from ₹178 crore in the previous quarter.

Eternal is also strategically transitioning its quick commerce business from a purely marketplace model to one that combines marketplace and inventory-led operations. This shift is anticipated to provide greater control over margins and facilitate assortment expansion. According to Eternal CFO Akshant Goyal, this transition is expected to lead to approximately 1 percentage point margin expansion over time, as the company gains more leverage by owning inventory.

Despite the short-term impact on profitability due to investment and operational shifts, Blinkit’s robust growth in gross order value (GOV) and monthly transacting customers (MTC) indicates strong underlying demand and successful execution of its quick commerce strategy. As Blinkit continues to scale and refine its operational model, its contribution is expected to remain a critical component of Eternal’s revenue growth, reinforcing the company’s position in India’s evolving digital consumption landscape.