Ayyappan R, founder and chief executive officer of FirstClub | Photo Credit: Supplied Picture

Quality-focused quick commerce start-up FirstClub is accelerating its expansion plans following a fresh funding round, with the company aiming to scale its network to around 50 clubhouses across Bengaluru and Hyderabad over the next six months while also entering new product categories.

The Bengaluru-based start-up, which currently operates 24 clubhouses — 21 in Bengaluru and three in Hyderabad — plans to deepen its presence in existing markets before evaluating entry into additional cities.

“In Bengaluru, we’ll be opening another 10 to 15 clubhouses in the next six months. In Hyderabad, we’ll hit something around 25 clubhouses, so we plan to hit around 50 clubhouses in the next six months,” Ayyappan R, founder and chief executive officer of FirstClub, told businessline.

The company recently entered Hyderabad, its first market outside Bengaluru, and says the early response has reinforced its expansion strategy. According to Ayyappan, the latest capital raise will be deployed towards increasing the number of clubhouses, entering new cities and broadening the platform’s category mix.

Founded around a quality-first proposition, FirstClub differentiates itself from mainstream quick commerce players through a curated assortment and a focus on premium grocery and fresh products. The company is now looking to extend that approach to adjacent segments such as beauty and personal care, pet care and children’s products.

“Any single commerce category that you see, we will be looking at it at some point in time, especially categories where quality matters a lot more. It could be pet care, kids, beauty and personal care. We are working towards launching some of these categories very quickly,” Ayyappan said.

The start-up claims customer retention has remained strong, with about 70 per cent of users returning after their first purchase. It also reports an average order value of more than ₹1,200, significantly higher than the industry average, which the company attributes to its focus on curated and premium products.

While most quick commerce players continue to expand aggressively across geographies, FirstClub says it is taking a measured approach towards growth and profitability. The company believes excessive store expansion could dilute order density and delay profitability.

“We are not in the mad race to burn and grow. We are a lot more operationally prudent in how we want to operate. We want to keep the targets much shorter when it comes to breaking even from a store profitability perspective,” Ayyappan said.

The company has not yet finalised its next city after Hyderabad but said it continues to evaluate opportunities across India’s leading urban markets as demand for premium and quality-led commerce continues to rise.

Published on June 11, 2026