Podcast Summary
Welcome to the thirty-eighth episode of The Digital Shelf Insider Podcast hosted by Shreshta Joy. In this conversation, we’re joined by Radhika Butala, Founder and CEO of The Better Collective, to unpack how quick commerce has quietly become one of the most effective testing grounds for modern CPG brands.
Radhika explains how platforms like Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy, and other players are influencing everything from flavour trials to pack sizing, and why these ecosystems now offer brands immediate feedback loops that traditional retail cannot match. She also breaks down the strategic shifts brands must make as private labels scale aggressively and regional preferences shape demand in real time.
Drawing from her experience building and advising high-growth consumer brands, Radhika outlines the practical ways teams can strengthen innovation, packaging, and portfolio choices while staying disciplined about inventory, pricing, and distribution.
Key themes
Here’s what stood out in our conversation with Radhika:
Quick Commerce as a Testing Platform
Brands are using rapid, small-batch launches to validate ideas and refine products based on live demand patterns.
Formats Built for Trial and Repeat
Sachets, minis, and refill packs encourage low-risk sampling and help premium brands break into new consumer segments.
Packaging Designed for Mobile First
With the shelf replaced by a single app tile, packaging needs to communicate function and value instantly.
Regional Preferences Driving Product Choices
Local taste profiles, ingredient cues, and cultural nuances are shaping product variants and rollout decisions.
Private Labels as Direct Competitors
Platform-owned brands are expanding quickly, influencing category pricing and consumer expectations.
Omnichannel as a Stability Anchor
Building across channels reduces dependence on any single quick-commerce partner and protects long-term demand.
Key Highlights
Here’s what brand teams need to keep in mind:
- Quick commerce enables faster validation than traditional R&D cycles.
- Trial-friendly formats reduce risk and expand the top of the funnel.
- Mobile-first packaging is now a core part of the growth playbook.
- Hyperlocal variants can be tested without national-scale investment.
- Private labels are raising the bar on freshness, speed, and price.
Takeaways
Actions CPG leaders can implement immediately:
- Build experimentation into your product roadmap using small-format SKUs.
- Use quick-commerce insights to guide flavour, format, and bundle decisions.
- Audit packaging for clarity and visibility on mobile listings.
- Test regional variants selectively before large-scale rollout.
- Strengthen portfolio focus; list only SKUs that move fast and predictably.
- Maintain diversified distribution to avoid platform over-reliance.
As quick commerce reshapes how products are discovered, sampled, and adopted, the brands that learn from real-time behaviour and adapt quickly will lead the market.
If you oversee product innovation, brand building, packaging, or e-commerce growth, this discussion with Radhika Butala offers a clear and practical roadmap for using quick commerce as a strategic engine.
Watch now!
Disclaimer: The content shared in the Digital Shelf Insider Podcast by MetricsCart is for general informational and discussion purposes only. The insights, opinions, and perspectives expressed by hosts and guests are their own and do not constitute professional advice, recommendations, or endorsements by MetricsCart or any affiliated entity.
