E-commerce giant Flipkart is all set up to enter India's massive food delivery business. With this, the Walmart-owned platform will now become the latest entrant to challenge the duopoly of Zomato and Swiggy that collectively command over 90% of the online food delivery market in India.
As per TechCrunch, Flipkart is reportedly testing its food-delivery service, “Eat-in by Minutes” internally. So far, the Bengaluru-based company has scaled the trial to more than 8,000 employees. It is using its logistics arm, Ekart, for this service.
The report added that for now, Flipkart has introduced a separate tab on its shopping app so that employees can access the service. For its model, it uses the restaurants listed through ONDC, which is a government-backed network that connects online buyers and sellers across different platforms. The trial also includes restaurants that Flipkart signed up directly.
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Many riders of the service have been spotted wearing “Eat-in by Minutes” jerseys, delivering orders in the streets of Bengaluru. The move by Flipkart comes amid growing optimism around the food delivery operations in India.
According to brokerage firm Bernstein, the food services industry is growing 18% to 20% a year, while the digital business still accounts for just over 15%.
With India being the most populous country and a growing section of people with more disposable income and widespread internet penetration, it is not a surprise that more players want a slice of this market.
Other than Flipkart, ride hailing app Rapido is also expanding Ownly, its food-delivery service that charges restaurants zero commission. Prominent market leader Swiggy is also testing its new app, Toing, focussed on tapping customers who are looking for cheaper meals. These initiatives also reflect the growing pressure on the industry's existing pricing model and the commissions that restaurants pay.
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In 2020, Amazon tried its luck in the food-ordering service, but it was soon shut down. Google's Areo app also launched a similar venture but failed to gain traction. Uber also left the market in 2020, selling its Uber Eats business in India to Zomato.
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