Living Media wins WAN-IFRA award for ‘Magazine in Minutes’

The publisher’s quick-commerce initiative accounts for more than 10% of its monthly circulation, according to the company

by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 10, 2026 9:57 PM | 3 min read

Living Media India Limited received the Supply Chain Innovator Award at the WAN-IFRA Print & Sustainability Awards 2026 for its "Magazine in Minutes" initiative, which integrates digital discovery with rapid delivery of print magazines.
The award was presented at the World Printers Summit and DistriPress Congress in Rotterdam, attended by over 300 print and distribution professionals.
The initiative, developed in response to changing consumer behavior post-COVID-19, allows consumers to order magazines digitally through a partnership with Blinkit, with deliveries typically completed in 10-15 minutes across more than 100 Indian cities.
Living Media's model now accounts for over 10% of its monthly circulation, emphasizing the importance of quick access to print media and aiming to attract younger readers and expand its product offerings.

Living Media India Limited has won the Supply Chain Innovator Award at the WAN-IFRA Print & Sustainability Awards 2026 for “Magazine in Minutes”, an initiative that combines digital discovery with rapid doorstep delivery of print magazines.

The award was presented at the World Printers Summit and DistriPress Congress in Rotterdam, Netherlands, which brought together more than 300 print and distribution specialists from across the world. Manoj Sharma, CEO & Publisher, and Deepak Bhatt, Assistant Vice President – Sales and Distribution, received the award on behalf of the company.

Developed in response to changing consumer behaviour following the COVID-19 pandemic, the initiative sought to address declining magazine retail footfalls and newsstand sales by making print titles available through quick-commerce platforms.

Living Media partnered with Blinkit to enable consumers to discover and order magazines digitally, with deliveries reaching their homes in as little as 10–12 minutes. The model has since expanded through quick-commerce partnerships to more than 100 Indian cities, with deliveries typically taking 10–15 minutes, according to the company.

In its award submission, Living Media said the channel now accounts for more than 10% of its total monthly circulation, while recording strong repeat purchases and attracting new customers.

The expansion required changes to the publisher’s inventory and distribution processes. Each magazine issue has a limited selling window, while quick-commerce fulfilment depends on stock being available across hyperlocal dark stores.

Working with its partners’ technology, inventory planning and operations teams, Living Media redesigned processes for issue launches, replenishment, stock availability and demand forecasting. It also shifted from top-down stock allocation towards area-wise demand forecasting to align inventory more closely with local buying patterns.

“This award is a recognition of the vision and determination of our teams to challenge conventional thinking around magazine distribution,” Sharma said. “We believed that the future of print would depend not only on the quality of content, but also on how easily and quickly readers could access it.”

He said the initiative’s significance extended beyond delivery speed.

“The real achievement is not the 10-minute delivery itself. It is the creation of an entirely new consumer journey for magazines — from digital discovery to immediate physical delivery,” he added.

The company sees the model as an opportunity to reach younger readers, introduce premium and niche magazine categories, and develop new products supported by consumer revenue.

While traditional newsstands remain part of its distribution network, Living Media said future growth would increasingly depend on reaching readers through platforms they already use. The initiative places print magazines within the on-demand purchasing ecosystem, making convenience a central part of the publisher’s distribution strategy.