Unpacking Pune’s year of premium splurges, snack obsession & lightning-fast deliveries

PUNE: India’s cultural capital has emerged as a key market for quick-commerce in the country this year. How India Instamarted 2025 reveals India’s fastest iPhone delivery of the year happened in Pune — a brand-new device arrived in just 3 minutes, beating unboxing videos to the finish line.

One Instamart account, a fan of potato chips, shelled out ₹1.5 lakhs on potato-powered happiness alone. While Pune snacked hard, it also trained harder — the Sports & Fitness category surged +475% YoY, cementing Pune as one of India’s most wellness-forward cities.

“Quick commerce in India has moved beyond just convenience. It’s not just a service, but a part of the modern Indian lifestyle. What started as last-minute top-ups and impulse buys now includes planned purchases and even big-ticket spending, from daily essentials to premium treats. Instamart is proving to be a trusted partner for everything people need, whether it’s urgent, indulgent, or just part of their routine, all delivered with the speed and reliability they expect from us.” Hari Kumar Gopinathan, Chief Business Officer, Swiggy

What Pune Instamart’d the Most in 2025:

• Late-night loyalists: Curd and mineral water ruled Pune’s post-midnight Instamart rush, defining the city’s nocturnal cravings.
• Gourmet meets global: Pune has emerged as one of Instamart’s top cities for sauces, cheese, meats, fish, vegetables, breads, and cooking oils, showcasing its appetite for both home-style cooking and global flavors.
• QIM behaviour spikes: Instamart’s festive season sale, The Quick India Movement sale saw Pune surge in makhana, Korean sauces, hand sanitizers, and nachos, driven by healthy snacking, world-cuisine experimentation, and hygiene essentials.

Pune’s Big Spenders & Faster-Than-Traffic Deliveries

• ₹13 lakh Instamart champion: Pune’s highest spender built a cart portfolio blending staples, treats, lifestyle items, and festival buys.

A City Expanding Its Wishlist

2025 proved that Pune is embracing Instamart for more than just groceries: Bakery, vehicle care, footwear, sports & fitness, toys, clothing, home essentials, electronics, makeup — all featured in Pune’s top-growing categories. The wallets are bigger, the carts are fuller, and the city is choosing convenience without compromise.

Meanwhile, the rest of India in 2025 wasn’t just shopping; it was optimising everyday life with Instamart. Milk emerged as the country’s #1 essential, with India ordering 4+ packets of milk per second; enough to fill 26,000 Olympic-sized pools. India also shopped big with a user in Hyderabad who placed the single largest cart of the year at ₹4.3 lakh, checking out with three iPhone 17 Pros.

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MUMBAI: The Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI) signed an MOU with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to facilitate investments from France into Maharashtra. An initial MoU was signed in September 2021 and this renewal was signed during a high-level roundtable discussion organized on, ‘The Ease of Doing Business in Maharashtra’ held in the presence of over 25 CEOs from top French companies operating in sectors such as automotive, renewable energy, chemicals, IT, transport, consumer goods, construction etc. The MoU was signed by Mr. P. Velrasu, CEO, MIDC, and Mr. Benoit Renard, Vice President, IFCCI and Managing Director, Air Liquide India.

The MoU aims to:

• Enhance bilateral trade and investment flows between France and Maharashtra
• Facilitate the entry of new French companies into the State
• Support the expansion of existing French businesses in Maharashtra
• Foster a conducive industrial environment aligned with Maharashtra’s Ease of Doing Business initiatives

On this occasion, Payal S. Kanwar, Director General, IFCCI stated that, “France has deep economic interests in the State of Maharashtra and is committed to enhance its positioning towards investments and job creation into the state; the renewal of the MOU with MIDC is a testimony of the growing interest and expansion of French companies in the state of Maharashtra and we look forward to building a strong partnership.”

Shri P. Velrasu, CEO, MIDC, welcomed the initiative and noted that such forums are very important for MIDC to help industries and ensure an inclusive environment. Shri P Velrasu welcomed the MoU between the two organizations and also noted that the forums should regularly convene to bring more momentum and allow MIDC to help solve industry issues. He also assured the industry representatives that MIDC is dedicated to addressing the issues of industries and is actively taking steps to bring ease of doing business in the state.

The roundtable discussion served as a platform for French industry leaders to engage in a constructive deliberation and dialogue with MIDC, sharing on-ground experiences and recommendations to further streamline business operations and investment processes in the State.

The renewal of the IFCCI-MIDC partnership is a pivotal step in strengthening the Indo-French industrial corridor, fostering innovation, sustainable growth, and mutual prosperity.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Hon’ble Deputy Consul, Mr. Sami Bouakaze, Consulate General of France in India and Mr. Benoit Gauthier, Minister Counsellor for Economic and Financial Affairs & Head, Regional Economic Department, Embassy of France in India along with top key French investors and business leaders who were present for the event.

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Glance AI is a new AI Commerce platform that delivers inspirational, Generative AI-led commerce and content discovery. Launched earlier this month, Glance AI is disrupting how consumers shop today, allowing them to instantly visualize themselves in AI-curated, stylized looks and purchase their favorites with a tap. Built on Google Gemini’s intelligence and Imagen’s state-of-the-art image generation capabilities, Glance AI is unveiling its new custom lock screen experience designed for Samsung users through this new partnership.  

“Glance AI is driven by a core human truth: we want to become the best version of ourselves. What stands between that aspiration and reality is the awareness of what is possible or access to platforms that enable this,” said Naveen Tewari, Founder and CEO, Glance & InMobi. “Glance AI helps consumers discover and visualize what’s possible, starting with an outfit that makes them look and feel great, and own it with just a tap on the platform. Samsung’s commitment to enable Glance AI across its devices in the US ensures consumers enjoy an experience where inspirational commerce and content converge.”  
 
Available as an app and a lockscreen experience, Glance AI is a fully opt-in experience. It trains itself on a single selfie or an image from the image gallery to generate hyper-real images of consumers in outfits best suited for them. Consumers can then make real-time purchase decisions in just a tap; recommendations and order fulfilment are driven by Glance AI’s extensive partnership with more than 400 leading brands in the US and beyond. The app further allows users to place the feature directly on their lock screen for easy access and the ability to save each look as either their lockscreen wallpaper or download to share across their network.  

Glance AI also leverages trending content, local events, and social media moments to make recommendations fresh, relevant, and engaging.  High-speed inferencing helps deliver options such as flash sales and trend-driven commerce, making every shopping experience unique and effortless.  By utilizing Samsung’s extensive reach alongside the power of AI, Glance aims to redefine user interaction with smartphones, making every moment spent on the device richer and more efficient. 

“At Samsung Galaxy Store, we’re proud to be more than just an app marketplace – we’re a destination for innovation, discovery, and meaningful experiences tailored for Galaxy users,” said Jason Shim, Sr. Director and Head of Samsung Galaxy Store USA. “Glance AI is a perfect example of the kind of high-quality and unique content we strive to deliver. By using AI to personalize content and shopping directly on the lock screen, it brings a smarter, more dynamic experience that reflects the forward-thinking spirit of the Galaxy Store.”

This collaboration paves the way for a mobile ecosystem that enables users to discover new styles and trends, transforming the smartphone into a dynamic center of styling and commerce. 

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To meet these rising expectations, more D2C brands and sellers are actively seeking fast, reliable, and cost-effective delivery solutions. While not aiming to match the ultra-fast timelines of quick-commerce platforms, D2C brands are accelerating the fulfillment of orders placed on their websites or marketplaces.

To support this growing demand for faster deliveries, logistics management platform Shipway has enhanced its services to include same-day, next-day, and hyperlocal delivery options across major metro cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Pune.

With these new offerings, brands can now choose between standard e-commerce delivery (2–3 days) or opt for expedited same-day and next-day options. Orders placed before a morning cut-off time qualify for same-day delivery, while those placed before 5 PM are eligible for next-day delivery—both within and between cities. Since January 2025, Shipway has achieved a 94% success rate for its next-day delivery service.

By leveraging a robust multi-courier network of hyperlocal partners, Shipway is now also facilitating hyperlocal deliveries, effectively bringing physical stores closer to the customer’s doorstep.

Saurabh Kumar Choudhary, Chief Business Officer at Shipway, said: “More brands are recognizing the value of faster delivery. Customers are increasingly expecting quick fulfillment, and when brands meet these expectations, it leads to higher conversion rates and improved customer loyalty. Fast deliveries also drive impulse purchases and help reduce return-to-origin (RTO) incidents, ultimately improving operational efficiency. At Shipway, we’re committed to enabling businesses, big or small, with better, faster, and competitively priced delivery solutions.”

Shipway will continue to expand its same-day, next-day, and hyperlocal delivery services to additional locations in the coming months

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Currently, there are over 4 million small and medium businesses and professional practitioners among the Indian Diaspora. GCCI chapters would help to network them locally and globally, which will greatly benefit them. As a connected society, this will help the small and medium businesses among the Diaspora and their counterparts in India.

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These transactions include order management by brands and sellers to process orders received on their websites & apps and across multiple marketplaces. The Uniware platform allows users to manage multiple warehouses and make automated inventory management decisions to optimize inventory utilization and adhere to desired SLAs. It also allows brands to seamlessly serve customers across their physical and online stores through its omnichannel solutions.

At present, 7000+ clients in India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East utilize the Unicommerce platform for comprehensive management of their e-commerce operations, including Some of Unicommerce’s marquee clients include FabIndia, Lenskart, Timex, TCNS, Mamaearth, Sugar, Emami, Urban Company, Blue Star, Cello, Symphony, VIP Bags, Healthkart, GNC, boAt, Portronics, TMRW, Mensa, Landmark Group, Edamama and many more.

Uniware by Unicommerce currently powers 11860+ client facilities, including  8900+ warehouses and 2900+ omnichannel-enabled stores across India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

The volumes on the Uniware platform have been rising rapidly and have doubled from over 500 Mn order items processed in FY 23. The current annualized run rate on its platform is 1.036 Billion order items.

Unicommerce’s platform enables automation across the entire value chain of e-commerce and retail, making it a one-stop shop for brands and businesses. Its product suite comprises three platforms, namely, Convertway, a marketing automation platform that enables customer engagement; Uniware, which streamlines operations by managing inventory across locations and processing orders for online and offline channels, and Shipway, a courier aggregation and shipping automation tool to power smart courier allocation, tracking and return & exchange management.

The company recently declared its Q3 FY25 results, highlighting a YoY revenue growth of 26.1% along with an adjusted EBITDA growth of 63.5% YoY. With a consistent track record of growing profitability since FY21, Unicommerce’s Profit After Tax (PAT) recorded a 62.3% YoY increase as per the results, reaching INR 62.9 million compared to INR 38.8 million in Q3 FY24. The platform also added 180+ new enterprise clients to its portfolio, as per its Q2 and Q3 FY25 results.

Commenting on the key milestone, Kapil Makhija, MD & CEO of Unicommerce, said, “Technology is a key enabler of modern-day trade. At Unicommerce, we are privileged to help build and advance e-commerce technology solutions that drive business efficiencies and enhance user experience not only in India but also in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Our 1-Billion-milestone is a reaffirmation of the power and potential of e-commerce and the role of technology in its growth.”

In 2025, Unicommerce acquired nearly 43% stake in Shipway Technology Private Limited, which offers full-service courier aggregation and shipping automation solutions that help brands and sellers reduce shipment costs. Unicommerce will be acquiring the remaining stake in Shipway as per agreed timelines.

Incorporated in 2012, Unicommerce is listed on the National Stock Exchange India and the Bombay Stock Exchange.

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“One of the main focuses of this budget is to create employment for which the Government has sought to use the Social Security Scheme as a tool. Skilling one Crore youths in top Companies in five years under the ‘Prime Minister’s Internship’ program is another step in the same direction. There is some relief for the salaried class on the personal income tax front. However, there are no major steps to increase consumption. The industry was expecting an extension of date with regards to the concessional rate of Income Tax at 15% for new domestic manufacturing units. There is disappointment on this front.“

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• The partnership will provide women entrepreneurs with essential tools, resources, and training to succeed in the digital commerce ecosystem
• Aiming to foster inclusivity and drive economic growth within rural communities, Amazon India and GAME will collaborate to empower 25k+ women entrepreneurs across India

HYDERABAD: Amazon India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ‘The Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME), to collaborate and promote the digital growth of women entrepreneurs in India, especially in Tier-2, Tier-3 cities, and beyond. Through this partnership, Amazon India will aim to support approximately 25,000 women entrepreneurs and artisans in their digital entrepreneurial journey. GAME is providing inputs in business capacity building, bridging digital marketing skill gaps, and enabling them to aggregate as collected brands. To create platform access and enable financial independence for rural women entrepreneurs and artisans, this initiative will provide the necessary support and resources for them to thrive in the digital landscape.

The MOU between Amazon India and GAME aims to co-develop and facilitate broad-based entrepreneurship to accelerate and sustain the growth of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India. Amazon Karigar & Saheli will offer workshops/training, onboarding, and AM support for sellers involved in this entrepreneurship without any financial investment. This aligns with Amazon’s commitment to bolster India’s economy and create millions of sustainable jobs by 2030, through partnerships within the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Further, women entrepreneurs will be provided with hands-on training and support on digital marketing initiatives, performance marketing, product listing optimization, and advertising techniques, equipping them to adapt to current and future trends in the digital marketplace. Additionally, they will gain access to valuable data-driven insights and metrics and get better knowledge of customer behavior and market trends.

Commenting on the occasion, Gaurav Bhatnagar Head of Seller Acquisition and Development at Amazon India said, “It is truly inspiring to witness women entrepreneurs nationwide harnessing the power of e-commerce to build and grow their business. Through innovative products, they are catering to customer preferences and establishing scalable enterprises that contribute significantly to societal well-being and the economy. We are honored to be a catalyst in their entrepreneurial journey through our Saheli program. Our steadfast commitment lies in facilitating worldwide customer access, thereby empowering these women to realize their full potential in the dynamic landscape of Digital India.”

Sharing his views on this occasion, Ketul Acharya, President, Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship, “We are delighted to have partnered with Amazon for the Saheli program. GAME’s Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) program seeks to enable women entrepreneurs by enhancing their livelihood opportunities and connecting them with diverse platforms and economic partners. Through this partnership, WEE at GAME is supporting Amazon in solving large-scale ecosystem challenges to women’s economic empowerment with access to training in the digital marketplace as well as research and data about access to new markets.”

Amazon launched its special program for women entrepreneurs, ‘Amazon Saheli’ in 2017, which seeks to bring to the fore locally made products from women entrepreneurs and local women-owned businesses in India. As part of this initiative, Amazon works with partners and women entrepreneurs to drive digitization and to provide requisite tools to women entrepreneurs to enable them to become successful in their digital endeavors. Since its inception, Saheli has digitized over 1.8 million rural, hyperlocal, and urban women-led businesses through its partner network, selling a selection of products such as apparel, jewelry, and groceries, on the e-commerce marketplace. The products are sourced from different (NGOs) across India. More than 80,000+ women artisans are involved in this partnership and benefit from it. The artisans produce and sell these products to support their livelihoods.

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The two-hour session will feature distinguished speakers, including Achim Fabig, Consul General, German Consulate General, Mumbai; Andreas Konert, Head of Business Development and Sales; and Ute Brockmann, Deputy Director General, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce. It will focus on the Pharma and Chemical industries in India, sharing insights on India’s pathways for industrial growth and sustainable development in process industries, and the transformative journey that the country is currently undertaking.

As a run-up to the upcoming ACHEMA 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany, the session will emphasize their role as ideal platforms for “inspiring strong connections” between process industry experts, decision-makers, and solution providers. It aims to shed light on the critical theme of “Navigating Industrial Growth and Sustainable Development” within the Indian landscape.

Andreas Konert, Head of Business Development & Sales for DECHEMA Ausstellungs-GmbH said, “This event is not just a presentation; it’s a platform for fostering connections, sharing knowledge, and paving the way for sustainable development. We believe that the collaboration between ACHEMA and the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce will facilitate a deeper understanding of the transformative changes occurring in the Indian Pharma and Chemical industry”. 

As India takes center stage in innovative advancements across pharmaceuticals, biotech, chemicals, food processing, and healthcare, the discussion will delve into how these industries can contribute to welfare, well-being, and sustainability. Attendees will have the chance to engage with industry leaders, gain valuable insights, and contribute to the ongoing discourse on sustainable industrial growth.

The session does not include any commercials for participation. You can confirm your participation by filling out the RSVP form here.

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iTV network channels- India News and NewsX has won accolades in different categories viz. –

1. Aishwarya Pandit Sharma, Chairperson, iTV Foundation has won the award for the Most Influential Leader of the Year.

2. NewsX has won the award for India’s Leading Brand 

3. India News has won the award for India’s Leading Brand.

4. Individual recognition shone upon Rana Yashwant, Managing Editor, India News as he bagged the award for Change Maker of the Year.

5. Rishabh Gulati, Managing Editor, NewsX won the award for Change Maker of the Year.

6. Pooja Gupta, Vice President of Brand and Content Marketing won the award for Her Story – Women Changemaker.

On this occasion, Aishwarya Pandit Sharma, Chairperson, of iTV Foundation said, “I am delighted that iTV network won these awards, as we have always believed in ethical and courageous journalism. These awards underscore iTV network’s unwavering commitment to delivering top-tier news to its audiences and are a testament to our excellence in news broadcasting.”

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