Flipkart, the Indian e‑commerce platform owned by Walmart, is moving from testing to a public launch of a food‑delivery service that it hopes will break the duopoly held by Zomato and Swiggy. The company has expanded an internal trial to more than 8,000 employees and is assembling a dedicated rider fleet through its logistics arm, Ekart, ahead of a rollout expected by the end of October.
Internal trial and logistics set‑up
The trial, which began as a small experiment for a few hundred staff members, now serves upwards of 8,000 Flipkart employees, according to two people familiar with the plan. The service appears as a distinct tab called “Eat‑in by Minutes” within the main Flipkart shopping app, sitting alongside the existing “Minutes” quick‑commerce offering and travel‑booking features.
Flipkart has also created a separate rider fleet for the food‑delivery test. These riders, who wear jerseys branded with the “Eat‑in by Minutes” logo, operate under Ekart, the company’s logistics subsidiary, and are distinct from the riders who handle Flipkart’s quick‑commerce deliveries. The move signals a deliberate effort to keep food‑delivery operations independent from the fast‑moving grocery and essentials business.
Restaurant listings for the pilot draw from two sources. First, Flipkart taps into the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government‑backed platform that links buyers and sellers across multiple online services. Second, the company has signed up restaurants directly, giving it a hybrid supply base as it prepares for a broader consumer launch.
Market context and growth prospects
India’s online food‑delivery market is expanding rapidly, with brokerage firm Bernstein estimating an annual growth rate of 18 % to 20 %. Despite this momentum, online orders still represent just over 15 % of the country’s overall food‑services industry, indicating substantial room for new entrants.
Current incumbents Zomato, owned by Eternal, and Swiggy together serve an estimated 85 million to 95 million paying customers each year, according to Bernstein. Their dominance underscores the challenge facing any newcomer, but also highlights the untapped potential of the remaining 85 % of the market that still orders food through offline channels.
Flipkart’s entry follows a series of high‑profile attempts by global tech giants that have struggled to gain a foothold. Amazon launched a Bengaluru‑based food‑ordering service in 2020 but discontinued it after two years. Google’s Areo app, which bundled food ordering with other services, failed to attract sufficient users, and Uber exited the Indian market in 2020 by selling its Uber Eats business to Zomato.
Pricing strategy and restaurant expectations
The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), which represents more than 500,000 restaurants nationwide, has welcomed the prospect of a new platform. Its president, Sagar Daryani, described the current duopoly as “more pathetic” than a monopoly and argued that restaurants need alternative channels.
Flipkart is reportedly proposing a base commission of about 10 % on each order, a stark contrast to the 20 %‑25 % typical on Zomato and Swiggy. Daryani, who also co‑founded the dumpling chain Wow! Momo Foods, said the lower commission could be a decisive factor for restaurants seeking to reduce costs.
Beyond the commission, restaurants often spend 40 %‑50 % of an order’s value on advertising, discounts, and other promotional expenses on the incumbent platforms. Daryani expects Flipkart’s total cost to sellers to stay around 15 %‑16 %, allowing eateries to retain a larger share of each sale.
Bernstein projects that new entrants could save customers roughly ₹20‑₹30 (about 20‑30 cents) per order through more efficient operations. While the savings are modest, they may not be sufficient to lure users away from the entrenched players, especially if Zomato and Swiggy respond with deeper discounts.
Launch timeline and broader strategic implications
Flipkart has told partner restaurants that it plans a public launch of the food‑delivery service by the end of October. The company also intends to expand to five or six additional Indian cities before the close of the year, according to Daryani.
The food‑delivery push arrives as Flipkart’s long‑awaited stock‑market listing remains uncertain. Chief Executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy has not provided a timetable for an initial public offering, even as the firm diversifies into businesses designed to increase the frequency of app usage.
Quick‑commerce platforms that originally focused on delivering groceries within minutes have broadened their catalogs to include high‑value items such as smartphones. This evolution places them in more direct competition with both Flipkart and Amazon, intensifying the overall e‑commerce battle in India.
Flipkart declined to comment on the food‑delivery initiative when approached for a statement.
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