Researching the Premium Quick Commerce Thesis in India
Independently investigated why a premium grocery delivery startup was gaining traction in Indian metro markets, starting from a skeptical prior.
Aditya Laddha
Associate at IQVIA
From their time as
Associate
IQVIA India • 2025
Overview
Aditya came across FirstClub, an Indian startup selling premium grocery items through a quick commerce model. His initial read was skeptical: the model looked like a premium-tier version of what Blinkit and Zepto were already doing, and he did not see a large enough market to justify serious investment.
The Story
Aditya came across FirstClub, an Indian startup selling premium grocery items through a quick commerce model. His initial read was skeptical: the model looked like a premium-tier version of what Blinkit and Zepto were already doing, and he did not see a large enough market to justify serious investment.
When he saw the funding the company had raised, he decided to investigate rather than dismiss. He read through available research, tracked commentary from practitioners and observers on LinkedIn, and worked through the underlying consumer behavior logic.
What he found shifted his view. In Indian metro cities, a segment of consumers was willing to pay a meaningful premium for convenience and product quality, a behavior pattern he had not internalized because he had grown up in a smaller city. The willingness-to-pay dynamic in metros was structurally different from what he had assumed.
The exercise was self-initiated and informal, but it demonstrated a habit he applies consistently: when a market signal contradicts his prior, he treats the contradiction as a research prompt rather than noise.