LocalCircles survey shows online grocery platforms heavily stocked with junk and ultra-processed foods
A new survey by community platform LocalCircles indicates that close to half of the packaged food items available on India’s major quick-commerce and online grocery apps fall into the junk, HFSS (high fat, sugar or salt) or ultra-processed category.
The findings are based on more than 24,000 responses from parents of Gen Z across 277 districts. Men accounted for 63 per cent of the participants, while women made up 37 per cent.
According to the report, nearly 50 per cent of packaged food products listed on leading delivery apps qualify as HFSS or ultra-processed, with some platforms reporting even higher levels. Items in this category range from biscuits, chips and chocolates to instant noodles, sugary beverages, candies and similar heavily processed snacks.
The assessment covered eight platforms, which are Amazon Fresh, Flipkart Minutes, BigBasket, JioMart, Zepto, Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and MilkBasket.
Consumption Patterns
Concerns extended beyond what is being offered online to what children are actually eating. When asked whether younger family members frequently order such products, 39 per cent of parents said “yes”, pointing to regular orders of sugary drinks, desserts, flavoured snacks and other ultra-processed foods.
Support for clearer labelling was high. Nine out of 10 parents said that placing a RED marker beside HFSS or ultra-processed items on digital storefronts would encourage healthier choices among youth. Of these, 54 per cent said it would “absolutely” reduce unhealthy consumption, while 35 per cent felt it would at least raise awareness.
Platform-wise Prevalence
Platform-wise, the analysis found that HFSS or ultra-processed items dominate listings across all major services. Blinkit recorded the highest share, with 62 per cent of its packaged food products falling into this category. Zepto followed with 58 per cent, while Swiggy Instamart had 54 per cent of its offerings classified as high in fat, sugar or salt.
JioMart’s catalogue showed that half of its packaged foods were HFSS, and BigBasket was close behind at 49 per cent. MilkBasket had 48 per cent of its listings in this category. Among the larger e-commerce players, Amazon Fresh had 44 per cent of its packaged food items marked as HFSS, and Flipkart Minutes stood at 42 per cent.
