Zepto IPO

About Zepto IPO

Though the buzz of quick commerce unicorn Zepto going for its initial public offering (IPO) in 2025 has been doing rounds, as per sources, the company has postponed its IPO plans by a year. Zepto has adopted the Confidential Route to file for its IPO. The IPO is now targeting July–September 2026 quarter subject to regulatory clearances. The company will look to raise around ₹11,000 ₹12,000 crore through a combination of a primarily fresh issue of shares and a limited offer-for-sale by early investors Zepto has received SEBI's in-principle approval for its $1.3 billion IPO, marking a key milestone ahead of its planned 2026 listing.

A next-door quick commerce app, Zepto delivers a host of items like groceries, fruits, vegetables, electronics and much more to customers within minutes. Zepto was founded in 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra. As of early 2026, Zepto has over 1,100 dark stores and does gross annual sales of around ₹26,000 crore. The IPO is expected to value the company at closer to Initially valued at $7 billion in its October 2025 funding round, Zepto's IPO valuation is currently under review with a potential reduction of 15–20% to approximately $5.6–5.95 billion (~₹47,000–50,000 crore), reflecting investor feedback and market conditions. The updated DRHP is expected to be refiled by end of April 2026.

Objectives of Zepto IPO

Key objectives of the Zepto IPO include:

• Expansion of dark stores and of last-mile logistics
  
• Expanding and diversifying the product categories
  
• Giving an exit route to the early investors in the company
  
• Scaling up volumes of Zepto Café
  
• Investing in technology stack and supply chain infrastructure
  
• Move the company structure to fit into a Marketplace Model
  

Industry Outlook

Between 2022 and 2025, the Quick Commerce market has grown by 24 times to $7.40 billion. According to a study by Cornell University, Q-Commerce Gross Market Value (GMV) could touch $35 billion by the year 2030. Including support logistics and other services, the total addressable market (TAM) of quick commerce is likely to reach $57 billion by 2030; with a strong franchise in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Sustained growth in quick commerce GOV, improvement in food delivery margins and a stable competitive environment will act as catalysts for the sector’s growth in the coming days.

E-commerce and quick commerce have witnessed a growth of 2 to 3 times faster in value than traditional trade channels. This has lowered the need for a traditional trade network for market entry into the sector. Demographic changes and change in income levels are helping this trend. As the average Indian population gets younger, there is a greater demand for technology driven purchases. The number of middle-income households has grown in India, in tandem with the expansion in per capita income.

Company Information

Zepto is a quick-commerce company delivering groceries and daily essentials to customers in just a few minutes. It was started by two young entrepreneurs, Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra. Zepto uses a network of small warehouses called ‘dark stores’ located in different areas of a city. It uses these dark stores to deliver items quickly. Through its mobile app, customers can order fruits, vegetables, snacks, milk, and other essentials anytime.

Zepto has seen a rapid growth in revenues on the back of order volumes and a lateral expansion across cities and towns. However, a combination of higher delivery costs, discounts, and higher infrastructure costs have resulted in sustained losses in the business. For the company, the scale has to now morph into better unit economics.

Strengths of Zepto

Here are some of the key strengths of Zepto.

• Its major differentiator has been the persistent delivery crunching within 10-20 minutes. This has led to the popularity of the platform.
  
• Its major strength has been the density of dark stores in key urban clusters. This enables them, to manage real fast delivery.
  
• Zepto has positioned itself as the only pure-play quick commerce brand in India, unlike Blinkit and Instamart, which are also into other related areas.
  
• Strong franchise in fresh products, largely due to direct linkage with sources of output.
  

Risks of Zepto

Here are some of the key risks to Zepto business model.

• Like most quick commerce players, cash burn remains the big issue and it continues to make losses despite rapid expansion in top line.
  
• It is facing stiff competition from Blinkit and Instamart and now even the likes of Amazon and Reliance Retail are likely to pose stiff competition in quick commerce.
  
• Currently facing scrutiny from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs over its dark patterns, which subtly impels consumers to purchase more.
  
• Food safety allegations have been quite rife in this case and that has taken a toll on the image of the company in the recent past.
  
• The company is incurring heavy costs on labour payouts, running costs, transport costs etc, which is only likely to scale up the top line.
  

Anchor Investor Bidding Date

TBA

IPO Registrar and Book Running Lead Managers

• IPO Registrar: TBA
  
• Book Running Lead Managers: Axis Capital, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Securities, IIFL Capital, JM Financial, Morgan Stanley, and Motilal Oswal.
  

Business Model

Zepto's business model is centred around ultra-fast grocery delivery through a network of strategically located dark stores. It generates revenue through product margins, delivery fees, subscription-based loyalty programmes and advertising. Advanced technology supports these operations. The company maintains cost-effectiveness and fast delivery services by optimising its supply chain and delivery efficiency.

Company Growth Trajectory

Zepto's revenue rose 128.9% to ₹9,669 crores in FY25 as against ₹4,224 crores in FY 24. With the revenue growth falling short of the growth in expenditure, the company's losses widened to ₹(3,367) crores in FY 25 from ₹(1,215) crores in FY24. Its EBITDA margins have been approaching near break-even.

Market Position

As of October 2025, Zepto was regularly processing upwards of 2 million (20,00,000) orders daily, although this could be influenced by peak Diwali demand. Zepto delivers more than 25,000 products across various categories within 10 minutes, thanks to its network of dark stores. It operates more than 900 dark stores. The Zepto Café service has also surpassed 1,00,000 orders a day. On an average it processes more than 2,000 orders per dark store on a daily basis.

How to Check Allotment Status of Zepto IPO?

1. Visit the Registrar’s Website

Visit the registrar’s website and check the link for IPO allotment status. Enter your application number, DP or client ID and click on ‘Submit’ to know the status.

2. Check on the National Stock Exchange Website

The National Stock Exchange website has an IPO bid verification module. You can use it to check the allotment status of Zepto IPO. Go to the NSE website and find the 'Invest' tab. Click on 'Verify IPO Bids' under 'Resources & Tools'.

On the IPO bid verification page, enter:

• Company name from dropdown
  
• Application number
  
• PAN
  

Then click 'Submit' to know the allotment status.

3. Check on the BSE Website

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) also has an IPO allotment status page. Go to the BSE website and find the 'Investors' tab. Under 'Investors', click on 'IPO'. This will take you to the IPO allotment status page. On the BSE IPO page, follow these steps:

• Select 'Equity' from the dropdown menu
  
• Choose 'Zepto' in the next dropdown
  
• Enter your application number
  
• Enter your PAN
  
• Click 'Search’ to know allotment status
  

How to Apply for the Zepto IPO?

To apply for this IPO:

• Log in to your Kotak Securities Demat account: Log in to your Demat account to access IPO investments. Next, select the current IPO section.
  
• Specify IPO details: Enter the number of lots and the price you wish to apply for.
  
• Enter UPI ID: After entering your UPI ID, click submit. This will place your bid with the exchange.
  
• Mandate Notification: Your UPI app will receive a mandate notification to block funds.
  
• Approve Request: Your funds will be blocked once you approve the mandate request on your UPI.