Rapido Set To Launch Food Delivery Service To Take On Zomato, Swiggy

According to a recent report, India’s leading ride-hailing company Rapido is all set to enter the food delivery business.

Rapido, a new player in the food delivery race?

As reported by The Economic Times, the company is currently in discussions with restaurateurs. 

Rapido wants to challenge the commission structure of the two market leaders, Zomato and Swiggy. Though it began as a bike-taxi platform in 2015, Rapido, rapidly expanded to rank second in India’s ride-sharing market.

After achieving an annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) of over $1 billion, its entry into the food delivery market aligns with its next stage of growth.

According to sources, “These are early discussions to determine if Rapido can challenge the Zomato-Swiggy duopoly. The company already offers delivery services for individual restaurants using its two-wheeler fleet.” 

Since Swiggy is an investor in the ride-sharing company, Rapido already provides food delivery services for Swiggy. However, since there was no exclusivity clause in the investment, Rapido is stepping into the food delivery space on its own.

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Zomato boss blames the system for slowdown of industry

Incidentally, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal blamed systemic problems for the slowdown of the food delivery sector.

The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) has lodged an antitrust complaint against Zomato’s Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto.

The filing, reviewed by Reuters, accuses these food delivery platforms of engaging in predatory pricing and deep discounting, making it impossible for traditional small retailers to compete.

AICPDF represents 400,000 distributors who supply consumer goods from bigshot brands such as Nestlé, Unilever, and Tata to 13 million retail shops across India.

According to the lodged complaint, small retailers cannot match the pricing strategies of quick commerce giants, leading to unfair competition.

Although bike taxis continue to be Rapido’s main offering, the ride-hailing startup plans to crack the online food delivery sector amid a market slump.

Also read: Kunal Kamra Slams Zomato's Deepinder Goyal For Offering Low Wages To Delivery Agents (startuppedia.in)