Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce giant owned by Walmart, is preparing to enter the country’s food delivery market. The company is currently testing the service internally and plans to launch it publicly by the end of October. This move targets the dominant positions held by Zomato and Swiggy, which together serve an estimated 85 million to 95 million paying customers annually.
Internal Testing and Logistics Setup
The trial has expanded from a few hundred employees to more than 8,000 users. The service appears as a separate tab within the main Flipkart shopping app, sitting alongside its Minutes quick-commerce feature and travel booking options. Orders are fulfilled by a dedicated fleet of riders from Flipkart’s logistics arm, Ekart. These riders wear jerseys branded with “Eat-in by Minutes” and operate separately from the team handling quick-commerce grocery deliveries.
The platform draws on restaurants listed through ONDC, a government-backed network that connects buyers and sellers across different digital platforms. Flipkart has also signed up restaurants directly to build its initial inventory. The company is headquartered in Bengaluru, where the internal testing and rider deployments are currently concentrated.
Lower Commissions and Market Pressure
Flipkart is positioning itself as a more cost-effective alternative for restaurants. Sagar Daryani, president of the National Restaurant Association of India, stated that Flipkart has proposed a base commission of approximately 10 percent. This is significantly lower than the 20 percent to 25 percent typically charged by Zomato and Swiggy. When advertising and promotional costs are included, restaurants often spend 40 percent to 50 percent of an order’s value on the incumbent platforms. Daryani expects Flipkart to keep total costs closer to 15 percent or 16 percent.
The food delivery sector in India is growing at an annual rate of 18 percent to 20 percent, according to brokerage firm Bernstein. However, online delivery still accounts for just over 15 percent of the broader food services industry. This leaves substantial room for growth, even as the market remains heavily concentrated. Other competitors, such as ride-hailing company Rapido, are also expanding their food delivery services with zero-commission models for restaurants.
Strategic Differences and Future Expansion
Daryani noted a key strategic difference between Flipkart and previous entrants like Amazon and Google. Those companies attempted to build food delivery businesses from scratch before expanding into quick commerce. Flipkart is doing the reverse, leveraging its established e-commerce base and growing quick-commerce operations to support food delivery. This approach could result in a leaner and more efficient operation.
Despite the potential for lower costs, winning customers remains a challenge. Bernstein estimates that new entrants might save customers only ₹20 to ₹30 per order through efficiency gains. This small saving may not be enough to draw users away from Zomato and Swiggy, which can offer deeper discounts to retain their user base. Flipkart plans to expand to five or six cities by the end of the year, moving beyond its initial Bengaluru trial.
The food delivery push comes as Flipkart’s initial public offering remains uncertain. Chief Executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy has not provided a timeline for a stock market listing. The expansion into food delivery is part of a broader strategy to increase customer engagement and frequency on the app. This effort is necessary as quick-commerce platforms begin selling discretionary items like smartphones, directly competing with Flipkart’s core business.
Source: TechCrunch
