Blinkit has launched a premium grocery service, Gourmet, in select pincodes of Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, moving into higher-priced food as its average order value stays flat by design. The service, first reported by LiveMint and independently confirmed by MediaNama, stocks items such as artisanal breads and cheeses as well as ozone-washed produce priced 20-30% above mass-market brands, in a separate network of about five dedicated dark stores.
The move follows a quarter in which Blinkit turned its first profit, but at just 0.3% of order value, far below its stated 5-6% target, as per Eternal’s Q4 FY26 shareholder letter. Higher-priced products are among the few levers left to increase the value of each order.
Why is Blinkit’s order value under pressure?
- Flat, and by design. Blinkit’s net Average Order Value (AOV) stood at around Rs 525 in Q4 FY26, flat year-on-year, as customers placed more frequent, smaller orders. Co-founder Deepinder Goyal has called a declining NAOV a “natural and intended consequence” of this strategy from Q2 FY26. Eternal cut the free-delivery threshold to Rs 99 from Rs 199 for Gold members and pushed meals under Rs 250.
- Customers doubled, but baskets did not. Average monthly transacting customers grew from 13.7 million to 27.2 million year-on-year, but the average value remained flat, making it clear the volume growth is coming from more smaller and frequent orders, as per the shareholders’ letter.
- The margin is thin. Blinkit’s Net Order Value (NOV) reached Rs 14,386 crore, but adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) was just Rs 37 crore, or 0.3% of NOV, against a guided 5-6% steady-state margin.
Why does premium matter now?
- Easy geographic growth is running out. The top eight cities are already 80-90% covered by serviceable pincodes, so further growth must come from smaller cities where online grocery adoption is low, and each new market needs fresh investment that could weigh on margins. With volume-led growth harder to come by, the value of each order carries more weight.
- Discounting is squeezing the mass-market end. Blinkit Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Albinder Dhindsa said aggressive discounting is “leading to poor-quality growth centred around select low-margin SKUs” and that Blinkit will hold its pricing discipline rather than match rivals’ zero-fee tactics.
- The inventory model changed the maths. Blinkit reached about 90% first-party by Q2 FY26, booking the full value of goods sold rather than a marketplace commission. It now earns a retail margin on goods it owns rather than a commission on a third party’s sale.
What has Blinkit said drives its growth? Blinkit’s three-year growth guidance rests on three levers: more products per store, more cities, and denser store networks, as per the shareholders’ letter. In assortment, Delhi-NCR stocks close to 80,000 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) against 50,000 in the next seven cities and…
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