Coooling, hydration products fly off the shelves on qcom platforms | Industry News
Qcom platform Swiggy Instamart said the company noticed a nearly four-fold week-on-week rise across top seasonal products in the last week of March. Cold coffee and fresh mangoes recorded nearly 10 times growth during the period.
In addition, a company spokesperson added that items like ice cream, cold drinks, watermelon, and mangoes are witnessing parallel upticks, while dahi remains a staple in summer baskets.
On the platform, Bengaluru alone accounts for over 14 per cent of national ice cream sales, and beverages are also seeing strong demand, led by colas, while niche options such as jeera masala soda are scaling rapidly, nearly 10 times.
The seasonal surge in mango consumption is particularly notable. Again, Bengaluru is contributing nearly a third of total mango orders, followed by Chennai and Hyderabad, while smaller cities such as Kozhikode, Madurai, and Thiruvananthapuram are also showing strong growth, the spokesperson added.
According to a summer forecast shared by the India Meteorological Department, the number of heatwave days will increase across many parts of the country, alongside a nationwide rise in minimum (night-time) temperatures.
Another qcom platform, Zepto, reported a similar trend, mentioning that demand is shifting towards summer essentials, with categories like ice creams, skincare, cold drinks, and hair care seeing strong traction.
“Products such as kulfi, sunscreen, instant drink mixes, hydration water, and talcum powder are gaining popularity, while fans and umbrellas are becoming everyday essentials for staying cool and sun-protected on the move,” a company spokesperson said. The platform highlighted that the National Capital Region (NCR) and Bengaluru are leading demand for cold drinks, juices, ice creams, and skincare products.
Flipkart Minutes, the qcom arm of e-commerce platform Flipkart, too, said demand has surged across key summer categories, led by hand fans (up 44 times), hydration drinks (12 times), and swimwear (up to eight times). Refreshment-led products are also gaining traction, with aerated drinks growing 2.5 times and items such as lassi, buttermilk, and ice cream seeing strong uptake.
“Beyond refreshments, demand is also picking up strongly across everyday summer essentials, particularly in personal care categories, with insect repellent orders more than doubling, while personal care products like deodorants and sunscreen have grown 1.8 times and 1.7 times, respectively,” a company spokesperson said.
Likewise, Amazon Now, the qcom platform of Amazon, said that it is seeing strong momentum this summer. As a result, the platform said it has expanded its selection, introducing a range of ice creams, early-season mango varieties like Alphonso, Kesar, and Banganpalli, as well as summer essentials, including swimming gear, ceiling and smart fans, and smoothie blenders.
“Seasonal categories such as ice creams, cold beverages, fresh fruits, and everyday essentials are witnessing a clear surge in demand… This strong customer response reinforces our focus on delivering a wide selection with great value and speed,” an Amazon India spokesperson said.
Tata-owned qcom platform BigBasket said that ice cream is emerging as the fastest-growing summer category, with over 100 per cent year-on-year growth. Buttermilk, lassi, and soft drinks are also registering strong double-digit increases, while fans have seen similar triple-digit growth of 100 per cent.
“Fans have seen a similar surge, growing by more than 100 per cent compared to last year. Coolers are showing encouraging traction, this being their first year on the platform. Additionally, tender coconuts and mangoes continue to record robust double-digit growth over last year,” said Seshu Kumar Tirumala, chief buying and merchandising officer at the firm.
