Blinkit lifts ad spend 163% to Rs 502 crore in FY25

Blink, the quick-commerce arm of Eternal Ltd. (formerly Zomato), sharply ramped up its advertising and promotional spending in FY25, with expenses rising to ₹502 crore — a surge of nearly 163% from the ₹191 crore it spent the previous year. The increase, which also covered customer incentives and discounts, highlights the company’s aggressive customer acquisition and market expansion strategy.

This investment-driven approach helped Blinkit post strong topline gains. The company’s total income more than doubled to ₹4,389 crore in FY25, compared with ₹1,934 crore in FY24. However, the growth came at a cost: overall expenses climbed to ₹5,318 crore, pushing net loss higher to ₹930 crore from ₹645 crore a year earlier. EBITDA loss also widened to ₹929 crore, underscoring the financial strain of scaling operations in a highly competitive space.

Despite the heavy outflow, Blinkit continues to build ancillary revenue streams. The platform earned around ₹7 crore in advertising revenue from related Zomato entities in FY25, alongside additional income from third-party brands buying featured listings and banner campaigns. This signals the platform’s push to monetise its high-engagement ecosystem even as it spends heavily on marketing.

Industry watchers note that the escalation in advertising mirrors the intensifying battle in quick commerce, where Blinkit competes with rivals like Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, and BigBasket. With faster delivery promises and deep discounting becoming the norm, high promotional spends are expected to remain a defining feature of the sector.

The numbers reflect Blinkit’s deliberate bet on market share over profitability. While revenues continue to scale rapidly, the timeline to profitability appears to be extending, making sustained efficiency and diversified monetisation critical in the years ahead.