When night falls, chocolate indulgence sweetens India's qcom sales

Late-night chocolate cravings are driving quick commerce growth in India, with impulse buying, premiumisation and convenience reshaping consumption habits

Well past dinner and after kirana shutters come down, urban India is increasingly clicking its way to desserts, with chocolates leading the charge. What was once an occasional treat is fast becoming a nightly ritual, powered by 10-minute deliveries, endless scrolling, and a growing appetite for “me-time” rewards.

 

A recent Redseer report titled “Reinventing packed F&B with quick commerce” identifies chocolates as one of the fastest-evolving indulgence categories, with quick commerce driving 50 per cent of incremental growth in 2024-25. Late-night, impulse-led purchases dominate, marked by low price sensitivity.

 

Online share rose from nine per cent in CY24 to 13 per cent in CY25, growing 65-70 per cent year-on-year and far outpacing offline growth. Consumers are also paying a 10-15 per cent premium for chocolates on quick-commerce platforms, driven by instant delivery and convenience.

 

What is driving this shift is not just convenience, but a broader change in consumption behaviour, said Kushal Bhatnagar, associate partner at Redseer Strategy Consultants. Consumers are increasingly seeking to meet multiple needs such as convenience, health, and indulgence within a single 10-minute delivery window. This has created new micro-moments in which impulse-driven categories such as chocolates thrive. 

 

For quick-commerce platforms and chocolate brands, the key question is whether this is also their most profitable window. The answer is layered. For BigBasket, this window is becoming strategically important. The Tata-backed platform has seen a 24 per cent quarter-on-quarter rise in revenue contribution from indulgence categories, with orders in this segment 72 per cent higher during late hours than during business-as-usual hours.

 

Late-night hours, in particular, are emerging as a distinct consumption occasion. Industry executives describe these as “me-time” moments, shaped by post-dinner relaxation, OTT (over-the-top) viewing, and higher digital engagement.

 

“Earlier, people would ignore a craving at 10 pm. Now they can act on it instantly,” said Seshu Kumar Tirumala, chief buying and merchandising officer at BigBasket. The platform has responded by launching an “After Hours” storefront featuring snacks, desserts, beverages, and even non-food essentials that also see a spike during this window.

 

For chocolate makers such as Mondelez India, formerly Cadbury India, which debuted in 1948, urban millennials and Gen Z are driving the shift. “The trend is not just about timing, but about access and convenience,” said Nitin Saini, vice president, marketing. The company is building the late-night “self-reward” occasion through smaller portions and premium offerings in collaboration with quick-commerce platforms.

 

ITC has pointed to a similar trend. “Chocolate consumption in India is moving from occasion-led to self-indulgence-driven behaviour,” said Subash Balar, business head, confectionery, chocolates & coffee, ITC. Premium formats are gaining traction, especially bite-sized and portion-controlled offerings. At ITC’s Fabelle, luxury boxed chocolates are outperforming traditional bars on quick-commerce channels, with dark and no-added-sugar variants finding favour among late-night consumers.

 

Speciality chocolatiers are also seeing similar patterns. Smoor said about 23 per cent of its orders come after 9 pm, often extending till 1 am. Founder Vimal Sharma attributed this not just to impulse, but also to biological rhythms, with late-night screen time and fatigue driving the need for comfort and quick energy. “Indulgence is becoming part of everyday emotional consumption,” Sharma said.

 

Yet, the late-night boom presents a mixed picture for quick-commerce platforms. On the upside, chocolates are high-margin, high-frequency add-ons that lift basket values and improve platform utilisation during otherwise lean hours. On the downside, many indulgence-led orders remain low-ticket, which can weigh on profitability. Temperature-sensitive products such as chocolates and ice creams also raise operational costs because they require controlled storage.

 

Despite this, the industry believes the shift is structural rather than a passing fad and quick commerce is unlocking new demand rather than merely diverting it from traditional channels.

 

On the contrary, kirana stores, constrained by operating hours and focused on low-ticket purchases, are unlikely to fully capture late-night consumption. Even so, Redseer estimates that traditional retail will still account for more than 80 per cent of the food fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market by 2030, suggesting coexistence rather than displacement.

 

Looking ahead, BigBasket, for instance, is investing in AI-led demand forecasting and smart cart recommendations to nudge users towards higher-value orders. Brands, meanwhile, are building quick-commerce-native portfolios with snackable packs, late-night formats, and premium, mindful indulgence options.

 

As the lines between need, convenience, and indulgence continue to blur, late-night chocolate orders are quickly turning into habit. In the quiet hours between dinner and sleep, quick commerce may have found a sweet and potentially profitable spot.

 

India’s $100 billion packaged food and beverage (F&B) market is projected to expand to more than $150 billion by 2030. Within this evolving landscape, the quick-commerce channel alone is expected to scale from $4 billion today to more than $25 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2030, according to Redseer.