India’s cold chain logistics sector is bracing for an unprecedented festive season, with 135 firms working at full throttle to meet a 20–25% surge in demand for frozen desserts, dairy products, ready-to-eat meals, and mithai.
According to Sameer Varma, Executive Director of ColdStar Logistics, this year’s jump is being driven by the growing capacity of quick commerce platforms promising deliveries within 10–15 minutes.
Swarup Bose, Founder & CEO of Celcius Logistics, noted that growth is not just from established brands but also from new entrants and smaller players expanding from Tier 2 into Tier 1 cities. However, a looming shortage of reefer vehicles remains a key concern.
Innovative models and strategies
Bobba Group has rolled out a Pay As You Store model, offering brands flexibility during peak demand without long-term commitments. Its Cold Zone facilities have built-in buffer capacity and added manpower to ensure seamless last-mile delivery.
Celcius Logistics, serving 600+ clients including Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon, and Flipkart, has integrated warehouse, transport, and inventory solutions with predictive demand planning and real-time tracking. It has also doubled its last-mile rider team to handle temperature-sensitive orders.
Pranik Logistics has pre-contracted 30–40% extra reefer capacity and maintains a multi-temperature fleet for frozen, chilled, and ambient-controlled goods. The firm is also investing in fuel-efficient reefer units and route optimisation to balance service reliability with rising costs.
Balancing speed, safety, and efficiency remains the sector’s biggest challenge. “Managing weather-related disruptions while ensuring speed and accuracy has been a decade-long learning curve,” said ColdStar’s Varma.
With demand surging beyond past festive spikes and quick commerce leading the charge, cold chain firms are betting big on technology, flexible models, and fleet expansion to keep India’s festive supply chain cool and efficient.
