Blinkit faces disruptions at major warehouses amid festive demand surge

**Blinkit Faces Warehouse Disruptions Amid Festive Demand Surge**

*By Akash Pandey | Oct 11, 2025, 05:07 PM*

India’s leading quick commerce platform, Blinkit, is currently grappling with significant disruptions across its large warehouses located in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Haryana, according to reports from *The Economic Times*. The challenges arise from a surge in festive demand combined with the company’s recent shift to an inventory-led business model.

**Capacity Crunch Hits Warehouses**

Blinkit’s storage facilities are reportedly operating at full capacity, leading to operational bottlenecks. An email sent to sellers by the company acknowledged these issues, stating,

*”Due to the ongoing festive season and high warehouse utilization, our storage spaces are operating at full capacity.”*

As a result, Blinkit has temporarily halted accepting stocks for new and pre-launch products at its warehouses until October 31. This pause aims to manage the current storage pressures effectively.

**Impact on Sellers and Diwali Sales**

The disruptions have had a direct impact on numerous sellers and brands using the platform. Many are missing the opportunity to list and sell key items during the crucial Diwali sales period.

One seller shared, *“This is affecting our ability to sell seasonal items, especially for Diwali, which is a high-demand season.”* Another highlighted difficulties in sending goods to large Blinkit warehouses in Farukhnagar and Bengaluru over recent weeks due to rapidly filling delivery slots.

**Blinkit’s Market Position and Expansion**

Owned by Zomato’s parent company, Eternal, Blinkit currently commands over 50% of the quick commerce market share. It faces competition from players such as Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes, and Amazon Now.

Ahead of the festive season, Blinkit has aggressively expanded its dark store network and now operates around 1,700 to 1,800 micro-warehouses designed to enable 10-minute deliveries. This expansion contrasts with competitors, many of whom have slowed their network growth during this period.

**Shift to Inventory-Led Model Brings Challenges**

Since September 1, Blinkit transitioned from acting solely as a marketplace to an inventory-led model, buying goods directly from brands and sellers on its platform. This change has introduced new complexities.

Nihaal Mariwala, founder of supplements brand Setu, commented, *“The inventory distribution policies had been somewhat fluid in the early days of the model.”* He noted that while fast-moving products are being distributed effectively, securing appointments to place new products in warehouses has recently become challenging.

**Company Response**

A Blinkit spokesperson addressed the situation, saying,

*”Every year, during the peak festive period, we pause new brand onboarding due to high warehouse utilization.”*

They further clarified that the pause on inwarding trial or launch-awaited products will remain in place until October 31, with normal operations expected to resume from November 1.

Under this arrangement, brands can list their products on the app within specific clusters or cities for a limited period of one week.

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As Blinkit navigates this seasonal capacity challenge, sellers and consumers alike await a swift resolution to meet the high demand of the festive season.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/business/blinkit-halts-new-product-listings-at-warehouses-due-to-diwali/story