Blinkit, Mr. Beast & AI Agents: What Distribution looks like now
Commerce is changing faster than we can keep up..
Distribution: What does this word mean?
Let's ask ChatGPT:
"Distribution channels are the pathways through which a product or
service travels from the manufacturer to the end consumer."
At INSEAD, I took a class under V. (Paddy) Padmanabhan on Contemporary Channels of Distribution. He spoke about the most underrated moat that business leaders ignore: distribution. Whether it was the success of young Hindustan Unilever in India through their store agents or the success of warungs in Indonesia in increasing Indomie's reach, it all had growth written on its back, thanks to increased offline distribution. In a world where information and preferences were limited, the key decision-maker was the person who sold the CPG item—the local kirana store. No one cared as much whether the shampoo contained eucalyptus or had peroxides in it. It was a commoditised product, advertised through billboards and traditional offline retail. The first big distribution channel of consumption that helped these CPG giants grow into big behemoths.
Fast forward to the digital revolution—customisation and increased awareness have entirely changed the game. What started with e-commerce penetration has now evolved into direct targeted selling through Instagram ads, specifically targeting your curly hair and Singapore's sweaty weather. It’s kinda crazy! While the mode of distribution is rapidly changing, the way brands find their consumers has changed significantly. As we witness e-commerce becoming the front and centre of retail, three big themes have emerged in the last 24 months.
Distribution: What is after e-commerce?
Discovery: Where are consumers finding these brands today?
Decision making: How does decision making change in an AI-first world?
Distribution: Quick Commerce is already here to stay!
E-commerce was once the benchmark, dominated by Flipkart (backed by Walmart) and Amazon in India. However, a third wave has now broken the glass ceiling: "instant commerce" or quick commerce.
This business promises to deliver day-to-day items from your local kirana store within 20 minutes. What started with small startups like Zepto is now one of the most crowded spaces in Indian commerce, led by major food delivery companies such as Zomato and Swiggy.
India’s quick commerce market is booming—it was valued at $700 million in 2022 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 45%, crossing $5 billion by 2025 (Source: Redseer, Source: ET Retail). Urban consumers are increasingly prioritising speed and convenience, and tier 1 and tier 2 cities are driving a large chunk of this demand. Urban consumers are increasingly prioritising speed and convenience, and tier 1 and tier 2 cities are driving a large chunk of this demand.
There are successful “quick commerce” first brands in India that don’t even operate on Amazon or Flipkart. While they initially offered only a limited range of SKUs, they now compete directly with e-commerce giants.
Let me share a story. I was looking for a book called Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (recommended by Nikhil Kamath on a podcast). I was flying back to Singapore the next day. I couldn’t find a reliable delivery date on either Flipkart or Amazon, but found it on the Blinkit app. It blew my mind that I received a book in just 30 minutes. This isn’t just changing my habits—everyone around me is being affected as well. You can order a 0% sugar ice cream in any tier 1 or tier 2 city and have it arrive before it starts melting. Crazy!
As Paddy said, distribution is a key variable that is not spoken about enough, and Q-commerce is completely changing the way things are built in India. As distribution becomes more efficient, it remains to be seen how much it changes our lives. When does this optimisation or convenience become unwanted?
Discovery: Bundling and influencers
In a world of abundance—where information is no longer scarce and nearly every brand claims to be clean, healthy, or sustainable—trust has become the ultimate currency.
It’s the filter consumers use to make decisions. In earlier eras, advertising and shelf presence might have been enough to drive discovery. Today, people are more likely to trust someone they follow online than a brand billboard. That shift in trust is transforming how products are discovered, bought, and bundled.
Bundling is one significant evolution of this shift. I recently purchased the Revolut metal subscription, which included free access to fitness apps, a WeWork desk subscription, MasterClass, and a Financial Times digital subscription. Why does a banking app bundle such varied services? Because bundling today isn’t just about combining related products—it’s about meeting the consumer across the range of their lifestyle. Similarly, a friend told me about how subscribing to Lenny’s Podcast gave him access to curated tools and product discounts. These are new forms of distribution, where bundling is guided not only by business logic but also by trust and community affinity.
At the same time, influencers have become some of the most powerful distribution engines. Their strength lies in trust and relevance, not just reach. Niche influencers often offer a better return on investment (ROI) than traditional celebrities because their recommendations feel more authentic. Take Feastables, the chocolate brand launched by Mr. Beast. It sold over a million bars in the first 72 hours and crossed $250 million in revenue within two years—all without traditional advertising. Mr. Beast didn’t sell chocolate; he sold trust. And that’s precisely what made the brand work.
Beyond Menus and Apps: Welcome to Agentic Decision Making
We live in a world where abundance has replaced scarcity.
The real challenge isn’t access—it’s navigation.
Even today, I need to download 10 different apps for 10 different needs—travel, work, payments, sharing, and social media. Our digital behaviour is rigid. We scroll through endless menus on a tiny 2" x 2" screen, making decisions constrained by layout, hierarchy, and habit. But all that might change very drastically!
With AI agents, chatbots, and agentic behaviour evolving, we’re beginning to interact with the internet in more fluid, contextual ways. Discovery and decision-making may no longer start with a search bar. You're already browsing Instagram, where you can now buy products instantly and book a trip directly in your banking app, all within the same flow. So, what more can agents do? I say a lot more! Commerce, media, and utilities are converging—and the next major distribution touchpoints may emerge in places we least expect: on a plane, at an airport, or within a completely unrelated app. This is just the first step. AI agents across sectors (including travel) are now aiming to reduce—not just support—decision-making. By understanding your preferences, habits, and context, they can make informed decisions on your behalf. What we’re witnessing is a shift from instant information to instant choices.
A prime example: Stock trading. Two decades ago, you needed a broker. Today, you can execute trades in seconds with an app. But soon, your AI assistant might make trades on your behalf before you even open the app. We don’t yet know how much this will change our behaviour, but it will. The only question is: are we ready to let go of making every decision ourselves? And if not, what’s the cost of holding on?