BENGALURU: Online food delivery company Foodpanda said it has added 60,000 delivery partners on its network as part of its proposed expansion plans. With the addition of 60,000 people on the network, the Ola-owned company has about 1,25,000 people on its delivery network, which the company claims to be the largest in the country.
Earlier, Foodpanda, which competes with Swiggy, Zomato and Uber Eats, had announced its plan to increase the number of delivery partners to meet the geographical expansion plans. The company had set a target of hiring 60,000 partners across India as part of its growth strategy.
“Delivery partners are key to our mission of bringing the best food experience from restaurant partners to consumers. With India’s largest network of more than 1,25,000 delivery partners, we are best positioned to serve a billion Indians,” Pranay Jivrajka, CEO, Foodpanda India, said. Foodpanda also aims to create over 5,00,000 opportunities for delivery partners over the next couple of years. The company had recently announced its entry to 13 new cities including Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kanpur, Lucknow, Indore, Nagpur and Mysuru.
Swiggy, which claims to be the largest food delivery company in the country, has over 40,000 delivery partners. In the last 11 months, Swiggy has expanded to 19 new cities, taking the total cities it operates to 27. The addition of headcount by the food delivery companies comes at a time when there is a huge demand for delivery partners. According to industry estimates, delivery boys are in demand and the same is growing by 35 per cent YoY. Subsequently, their salaries also have seen an upswing; the average salaries have increased to `14,000-22,000 in the last couple of years from `8,000-10,000 a month.
“The combination of fixed and variable pays increases once there is opportunity to earn more. The commission-based delivery structure is an option, but it’s generally been looked at as a part-time job and no company benefits as attrition is high. Continuity of job and opportunity to earn more lure more prospects,” said business head of a staffing firm.