Flipkart Wholesale helps 600 brands from small cities expand across India

The firm is playing a key role in the success of many local and small brands by helping bridge the gap between them and Kiranas and retailers that sell to the masses.

Flipkart Wholesale, the digital B2B marketplace of e-commerce giant, said it is playing a key role in the success of many local and small brands by taking them to markets across the country. It is helping bridge the gap between them and Kiranas and retailers that sell to the masses. Flipkart Wholesale now works with over 600 challenger brands that reside from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities such as Kanpur, Nagpur, Bikaner, Ramachandrapuram (AP), Ludhiana; aiming to unlock the true potential of digital commerce.

With Flipkart Wholesale, challenger brands were able to witness sales growth to the tune of 1.5X during the year, as the brands transcended their regional boundaries to sell across the nation. Flipkart Wholesale competes with players such as Udaan, Amazon, Reliance’s JioMart and Tata as well.

Adarsh Menon, senior vice president and head, Flipkart Wholesale, said at Flipkart Wholesale, the key goal is enabling the digital transformation of kiranas and MSMEs using locally developed technology and strong supply-chain capabilities. 

“Our platform has in a short span of time played the catalyst for several brands, helping them transcend regional boundaries and scale new heights of success,” said Menon. These brands which operate in varied categories such as fashion, personal care products, energy drinks, hot beverages and packaged Indian food are situated across the length and breadth of the nation with several of them based in smaller cities. “As we continue to expand and enhance our value proposition, kiranas and small businesses continue to leverage our platform to amplify their business and succeed,” said Menon.

Once on board, brands gain increased visibility, horizontal and vertical growth in distribution and networking that enables them to compete with bigger brands that can outspend them on supply chain and marketing initiatives. With fulfilment centers located in strategic locations, Flipkart Wholesale caters to a huge catchment of buyers resulting in multifold increase in sale points for such brands.

One such brand is Kanha Namkeen, a popular snacks maker, that has been traditionally strong in Rajasthan but was not available outside the region. Today, the brand is successful in making inroads into markets such as UP, J&K, Punjab and MP. It is growing at 2X month-on-month due to the support from Flipkart Wholesale. “The Flipkart Wholesale platform has helped us establish brand presence and drive online sales,” said Puneet Jethlia, director of Kanha Namkeen. “We are confident that the synergy of digital platform and physical touch will help drive volumes during the coming festive season as well.”

Flipkart Wholesale is operational across 15 states and UTs in the country and expanding to new territories and serving new pin codes. Another brand Mamaearth, a manufacturer of safe and certified toxin-free products, tied up with Flipkart Wholesale to cater to the Northern regions in India. This resulted in 5 per cent incremental sales to the overall offline business in just 2 months due to the bulk orders received over the platform and bringing exposure to new customer cohorts such as Kiranas. Flipkart Wholesale is now taking their products to markets in the south. “Our partnership with Flipkart Wholesale is like a well-crafted symbiotic one that is helping consumers find the right products, at the right place,” said Varun Alagh, co-founder and CEO, Mamaearth.

Bikano – manufacturer of packaged Indian sweets and snacks has a direct supply arrangement for the UP and NCR region while leveraging the platform to deepen their reach in the South market. Brands such as Hell Energy Drink and Wagh Bakri too have gained a pan India market through their association with Flipkart Wholesale. A common thread between all these brands since on-boarding the platform has been accelerated growth.

The strong technology base and in-depth market knowledge upon which Flipkart Wholesale was built, enables a growth ecosystem where SME brands gain instant access to a pan India marketplace. They also get access to an efficient supply chain network, credit support and Kiranas benefit from access to a wide array of products, assured quality, speedy delivery and hassle-free returns. The market insights offered through the platform also helps both brands and kiranas make informed decisions on products that are in demand.