Why Is Flipkart Joining India’s Food Delivery Renaissance?

FOLLOW US FOLLOW US Added to Saved Stories in Login VIEW SAVED STORIES Walmart-owned Flipkart is close to a full food delivery launch in Bengaluru and is currently eyeing a timeline of August end for the rollout, followed by other cities later this year..

While a standalone food delivery app is also in the works and could go live in the coming months, for the initial rollout and to ease customer acquisition, Minutes will handle the food delivery vertical’s order and fulfilment flow. Detailed queries sent to Flipkart.

What Happened

This rollout mirrors a two-pronged approach that Rapido has also adopted after its food delivery app launch Ownly earlier this year. Rapido later integrated its food delivery services within the main ride-hailing app, expanding accessibility to its existing user base.

• Some of these demands have reportedly been acknowledged in recent conversations between restaurant bodies and the two platforms, but the core commission structure, which can go as high as 30-40%, according to Daryani, still.

• Sources tell Inc42 that Flipkart is looking at a base commission in the 12-13% range for restaurant partners, significantly lower than what Swiggy and Zomato charge, especially for restaurants that are heavily dependent on.

• Base commissions on Swiggy and Zomato officially range anywhere between 15% and 40%, according to industry representatives, but with the inclusion of platform fees, ad spends and payout deductions, which are layered on top.

Key Details

Flipkart’s entry and Rapido’s early gains land in the middle of a public standoff between restaurants and the Swiggy-Zomato duopoly. The long-standing unease between these two factions over high commissions and increasing layering of costs has led to the latest dispute.

• On that note, Flipkart seems to be directly competing in a higher-order-value segment where Swiggy and Zomato have so far faced no serious challenger.

• Rapido’s zero-commission model for restaurant partners and focus on small-ticket-size meals by onboarding largely non-branded, small restaurant chains is a different market play.

• This is markedly different from what Rapido, which earlier forayed into food delivery, offers.

Why It Matters

NRAI president Sagar Daryani told Inc42 that restaurants want the choice to opt out of ad campaigns, a hard cap on marketing spend, and dedicated regional-language support from the platforms. While Swiggy and Zomato executives have been engaged in a series of.

• Flipkart is also not likely to build its own cloud kitchen brands the way Blinkit’s Bistro, Zepto Cafe or Swiggy’s Snacc have; instead, restaurant partners will be onboarded onto a marketplace model similar to.

• Notably, in its initial restaurant onboarding exercise, sources said that Flipkart has reached out to branded, organised restaurant chains rather than small independent eateries.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by Inc42 as more details emerge