According to reports, India's biggest group of retail distributors has asked the antitrust authority to investigate three quick commerce companies - Zomato's Blinkit, Swiggy and Zepto - for alleged predatory pricing.

Quick commerce is the new shopping craze in India, with some companies promising to deliver everything from groceries to electronics within 10 minutes, changing how Indians shop and challenging e-commerce giants like Amazon.

In a letter dated October 18, the All India Consumer Product Dealers Federation (AICPDF), which represents 400,000 retail distributors of major companies including Nestle and Hindustan Unilever, told the antitrust agency that quick commerce is engaging in predatory pricing, meaning that lure customers they are offering substantial discounting and below-cost sales to attract customers, the letter noted.

Zomato's Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy run the Instamart delivery service and are backed by SoftBank, as per reports.

According to the letter, several consumer goods manufacturers are working directly with quick commerce companies to expand their reach, eliminating traditional salespeople who have been delivering orders from store to store for decades.

Such practices make it impossible for traditional retailers to compete or survive, says the letter, according to reports.

Implement protective measures for traditional distributors and small retailers to safeguard their interests, it urged the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Annual sales of Indian quick commerce platforms are expected to exceed $6 billion this year, with Blinkit having a market share of nearly 40 percent and Swiggy and Zepto at around 30 percent each, reports suggest.

In August, CCI's investigative arm noted that major e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart were violating local laws by offering predatory pricing, but both companies have denied the allegations.

Reflecting the strength of the quick commerce sector, Zomato's stock price has doubled this year, and Swiggy plans to launch a $1 billion-plus IPO in the coming weeks.