bengaluru, July 23 -- A surprise show from quick commerce unit Blinkit lifted shares of Eternal Ltd to a record on Tuesday, pushing its market capitalisation to the highest level since its 2021 public listing. The rally underscores growing investor confidence in the country's digital consumption narrative, as Eternal's market value shot past that of Avenue Supermarts Ltd, which operates grocery chain DMart. Eternal, the parent of Zomato, began as a food delivery startup under founder Deepinder Goyal in 2008. Over the years, it has evolved into a consumer tech platform spanning quick commerce, dining-out experiences through District, and 10-minute food delivery via Bistro. "The competitive intensity in quick commerce has witnessed some pullback due to lower cash burn by a key competitor. While the possibility of more fund-raise and cash burn by the competitor remains, Blinkit is still well-positioned to achieve adjusted Ebitda breakeven by 4QFY26," Kotak analysts wrote in a note. Eternal shares surged as much as 15% to hit Rs.311.60 on BSE, before paring gains to close 10.6% up at Rs.299.85. Market capitalization hit Rs.2.89 lakh crore, overtaking DMart parent Avenue Supermarts Ltd's Rs.2.62 lakh crore. DMart was previously India's largest retail listed company by market capitalisation. "Zomato has a solid market position when it comes to food and quick commerce. DMart has always been under pressure," said Satish Meena, founder of Datum Intelligence. "Even in the last quarter, DMart's online grocery arm grew by 31%; yet, it remains very small compared to its quick commerce rivals. They will always end up playing catch-up." Eternal's Q1 revenue rose 67% year-on-year to Rs.7,563 crore, driven almost entirely by Blinkit. In its earnings statement, the company disclosed that Blinkit's gross order value now exceeds that of its original food delivery business-a milestone that cements its pivot to becoming a grocery-first platform. Blinkit generated Rs.3,046 crore in gross order value, accounting for 50% of Eternal's consumer-facing business. Zomato's food delivery arm followed closely at Rs.2,951 crore or 48%, while Hyperpure-the B2B supply division-contributed Rs.1,497 crore. District, the dine-out vertical, added Rs.70 crore, comprising less than 1% of consolidated revenue. Blinkit's monthly active users more than doubled to 16.9 million over the year. It also added 243 dark stores in Q1, expanding its network to 1,544 locations, with plans to reach 2,000 by year-end. Blinkit narrowed its losses. Adjusted Ebitda margin improved to -1.8% from -2.4% in the previous quarter....