How long does platform onboarding typically take?

Quick commerce platforms (48 to 72 hours)

Quick commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart are designed to onboard brands rapidly. If your GST, FSSAI (where required), trademark, GS1 barcodes, and brand authorisation documents are in order, and if your product images and pack shots are platform-ready, we can typically get your hero SKUs live in under 72 hours.

What slows brands down at this stage is almost always documentation. Missing GS1 barcodes, mismatched legal entity names, or incomplete FSSAI categories can delay activation by weeks. We always run a documentation audit on day one so we can flag and fix these issues before the platform application is even submitted.

E-commerce marketplaces (2 to 3 weeks)

Marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, AJIO, and Tata CLiQ have more rigorous onboarding processes. Account creation takes a few days, but the bulk of the timeline is consumed by category approvals, brand registry verification, catalogue creation, A+ content design, and pricing setup. For most brands, going live across two to three marketplaces in three weeks is a realistic target.

We work in parallel rather than sequentially. While one workstream handles documentation and account creation, another team works on catalogue architecture, creative production, and pricing strategy. This parallelisation is what allows us to compress what would otherwise be a six to eight week timeline.

Beauty and regulated categories (3 to 4 weeks)

Beauty platforms such as Nykaa, Nykaa Luxe, and Tira have brand vetting processes. Categories like supplements, food, and personal care also require additional certifications and label compliance reviews. For these brands, the timeline is typically three to four weeks, with the additional time going into compliance preparation, label corrections, and brand approval cycles.

What you can do to go live faster

• Have GST, PAN, brand authorisation, and bank documents ready in the brand's legal name
• Generate GS1 barcodes for every SKU before onboarding starts
• Provide high-resolution product images on white background plus lifestyle shots
• Decide pricing, MRP, and pack sizes upfront and avoid mid-process changes
• Choose a single point of contact internally who can approve decisions quickly

Realistic timelines we commit to

We give every client a written timeline at the start of the engagement, with weekly milestones and clear ownership of each task. If something is going to slip, we tell you immediately rather than at the deadline. Over the last 150+ brand launches, we have hit our committed timeline more than 90% of the time, and the cases where we have slipped have almost always been due to platform-side delays outside our control.