In a strategic leadership reshuffle aimed at sharpening its edge in the fiercely competitive quick commerce market, Tata-backed BigBasket is set to welcome Deepika Khattar Bhan to its board. Bhan, who currently serves as President–Packaged Foods at Tata Consumer Products, will replace Aarthi Subramanian, Executive Director and COO of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), as she takes on broader responsibilities within TCS.
This move is part of a broader leadership revamp at BigBasket, which is recalibrating its strategic focus amid intensifying industry competition and a booming demand for instant deliveries and high-margin products.
Credits: Siliconindia
Deepika Khattar Bhan: A Strategic Asset in FMCG and Private Labels
Bhan brings more than 20 years of experience in the FMCG sector, spanning brand building, marketing, and supply-chain optimization—skills that are central to BigBasket’s evolving playbook.
Before joining Tata Consumer Products, she spent over a decade at Hindustan Unilever and Unilever, handling multiple categories and leading cross-market initiatives. Her expertise is particularly relevant now, as BigBasket looks to ramp up its private label and packaged goods offerings—critical segments for margin expansion and customer loyalty in the low-margin world of online grocery.
Her induction is seen as a calculated move to strengthen brand-led growth, bolster BigBasket’s bottom line, and bring renewed agility to its operations and product strategy.
A Board in Transition: New Faces for New Goals
Bhan’s appointment follows the recent addition of Manish Bajoria as BigBasket’s CFO, marking a concerted effort to inject financial and strategic depth into the company’s core leadership. With rising pressure from quick commerce leaders like Blinkit and Zepto, BigBasket is evolving from a traditional e-grocer into a tech-savvy, private label-focused, and efficiency-driven business.
The current board includes:
- Hari Menon, Co-founder and CEO
- Saurabh Agrawal, Group CFO & Executive Director, Tata Sons
- Ankur Verma, SVP, Tata Sons
- Vishal Gupta, Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners
- Vipul Parekh, Co-founder of BigBasket (rejoined in 2024)
This revamped team is expected to drive the company’s next phase of growth, focusing on both profitability and scale.
Market Shake-up: Quick Commerce Gets a Leadership Makeover
BigBasket’s restructuring comes amid a flurry of top-level changes across India’s food and quick commerce space. Just a day earlier, Eternal (formerly Zomato) elevated Aditya Mangla as CEO of its food delivery and strategic mobility platform, replacing Rakesh Ranjan. Meanwhile, Blinkit, Zomato’s quick commerce arm, appointed Vipin Kapooria, a Flipkart veteran, as its CFO in December 2024.
Earlier this year, Swiggy’s Instamart onboarded Ankit Jain, another Flipkart alumnus, as Senior VP–Operations to steer its end-to-end supply chain. These shifts signal that major players are arming themselves with seasoned talent as the battle for ultra-fast grocery delivery intensifies.
The Numbers Game: A $30 Billion Market in the Making
The fast commerce sector in India is expected to grow from $5 billion in FY25 to $30 billion by FY30, according to Bessemer Venture Partners. Blinkit has a 46% market share, according to a recent Motilal Oswal research, followed by Zepto (29%), and Instamart (25%).
BigBasket’s 8 million monthly orders across 400+ locations demonstrate its enormous reach and brand loyalty, even though its core business is still scheduled food delivery. BigBasket wants to increase its share of the rapid commerce market by putting more of an emphasis on brand distinctiveness and operational efficiency.
Credits: Mint
What’s Next for BigBasket?
With Deepika Khattar Bhan stepping into a strategic advisory role, and a new CFO steering financial planning, BigBasket is clearly future-proofing its leadership structure. The goal? To outpace competitors not just in delivery speed but in customer stickiness, operational excellence, and sustainable profitability.
As the lines between e-grocery and quick commerce blur, BigBasket is positioning itself to thrive—not just survive—in a high-stakes digital grocery war.
