BENGALURU: Ride-hailing platform Rapido, which has forayed into food delivery, will cross-utilise its fleet to compete with Zomato/Swiggy's dedicated riders. The recent shift in volumes to less than 30-minute deliveries demand a stronger grip over rider availability and servicing, observes Elara Capital.
The platform will cross-utilise its 4 million-rider network at zero incremental capex. "The commission model is flat at 8-15% (Zomato-Swiggy’s 21-22%), which could elevate rider earnings and trim overall cost. However, the absence of a dedicated fleet may compromise the delivery experience, especially with rising lesser than 30-minute delivery propositions," it said.
Zomato and Swiggy are two dominant players in this food delivery space and Rapido's initial pilot in Bengaluru will disrupt these two players, apart from Dunzo. Zepto too introduced its 10-minute fresh food delivery app Zepto Cafe last year.
Rapido’s Ownly is said to be a zero-commission food delivery model.
"Rapido's new food delivery service, called Ownly, is ready to shake things up for Swiggy and Zomato in India. They're planning to charge restaurants no commission or very low, fixed delivery fees (like Rs 25 for orders under Rs 400). Thus, helps restaurants directly, as they usually pay high fees to other services," said Somdutta Singh, Serial Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO Assiduus Global.
Rapido will use its huge network of bike riders, already used for rides, to make deliveries efficient and cheaper. This way of focusing on what restaurants need, with fair prices and getting noticed based on quality rather than paid ads, could make the big delivery companies rethink their high charges. Ultimately, this might lead to a more competitive and affordable food delivery market for both - restaurants and the customers, she added.
Rapido is not the first ride-hailing platform to make its foray. Earlier, Uber tried with Uber Eats but failed and exited with disappointment. Ola too tried with Cafe but had to shut a year after its launch.
In 2022, e-commerce company Amazon discontinued its pilot food delivery business, Amazon Food in Bengaluru. Launched in May 2020, it partnered with restaurants and expanded the service in Bengaluru, but it discontinued two years later.
"So far, new entrants (ONDC and direct ordering platforms) have failed to scale up meaningfully, due to no last mile control and reliance on 3P logistics. Upon sustained execution and scale, Rapido could challenge stable take-rates and profitability of the incumbents," brokerage firm Elara Capital added.
Meanwhile, BigBasket is also planning to launch its 10-minute food delivery services by the end of this fiscal. According to Research And Markets, India's online food ordering and delivery market, which was valued at $31.77 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $140.85 billion by 2030, rising at a CAGR of 28.17%. Experts point out that there is enough space for new players but it depends on how they manage to scale-up meaningfully.