Meesho: To Change Its Business Model
About the Organization:
Meesho is the brand name of Fashnear Technologies Private Limited. It is an Indian social e-commerce platform founded by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal to provide social-commerce solutions to individuals interested in starting a new business. They built an extensive catalogue of products sourced from various suppliers and encouraged users to act as resellers of these products through their personal social media accounts.
The Story Unfolds:
Meesho established itself as a leading online marketplace for suppliers and resellers in India. In 2021, Meesho achieved the status of the most downloaded e-commerce application globally with 1.8 million resellers and 100,000 suppliers across over 5,000 Indian towns and cities. Meesho emerged as a significant player in the Indian e-commerce landscape in the last seven years by empowering marginalized communities, including women, rural entrepreneurs, and low-income individuals.
The Big Question
For over five years, Meesho positioned itself as the go-to place for sellers and resellers. However, as various issues and user complaints arise experts questioned that if Meesho change its business model and go direct to consumer, the millions of resellers who started or grown their business based on the assurance of Meesho, would go out of business. As Meesho evaluate the possibility of moving from a reseller model to a B2C platform model, it would face deep-pocketed, globally experienced competitors capable of outspending Meesho at every point.
Why does the case matter?
This case presents students with the opportunity to explore traditional and innovative business models such as B2B2C. It also helps to learn and compare social commerce with traditional e-commerce by focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of each. In addition, students will get the chance to examine the impact of payment cycles and logistics on small entrepreneurs, sellers, and resellers,
What would you decide?
Do you think that Meesho, a company that invested substantial resources in building and institutionalizing its social e-commerce model should now enter the highly competitive, investment extensive, fast growing market of e-commerce where it was required to compete with nearly every large e-commerce business in India? If done, wouldn’t it move away from a strong position in social commerce to now a challenger across many verticals?
From the Authors
This case emerged due to Meesho's unique B2B2C business model, which is a differentiating factor. It aligned with our broader interest in how digital platforms are reshaping entrepreneurship and market access in emerging economies through innovative models. The sharp strategic dilemma created high tension about whether to scale by transforming its business model or preserve its differentiated identity; an ideal classroom case.
The writing journey was intellectually demanding due to the innovativeness of the model but deeply engaging because of its newness. The challenge lay in capturing a unique digital business within a coherent narrative while preserving the tension between growth and purpose. We relied on multiple data sources and carefully structured the case to reflect not just the firm’s trajectory but also the voices of stakeholders, competitive pressures, and financial realities. Crafting the dilemma required balancing Meesho’s strong social-commerce roots with the lure of a much larger, but riskier, marketplace opportunity.
Academically, the case is designed to bring alive discussions on business model innovation, platform strategy, and the trade-offs between scalability and sustainability. It allows instructors to connect theory with practice of B2B2C models, social commerce, and entrepreneurial ecosystems—while encouraging students to critically evaluate strategic pivots under uncertainty.
In today’s digital economy, firms constantly face pressures to pivot, scale, and compete with deep-pocketed players. Yet, such moves often risk diluting their core value proposition. Meesho’s journey captures this tension vividly.
We hope the case sparks rich classroom debate on how firms can grow without losing their core values, as well as what Meesho should do.