Rapido’s Ownly targets Bengaluru food-delivery share as restaurants push back on Swiggy, Zomato
Rapido is scaling its zero-commission Ownly food-delivery service through its main app, claiming nearly 10% of Bengaluru’s online food-delivery market. The move taps restaurant concerns over 25–35% platform commissions, with expansion to more cities planned from next quarter.
What happened
Rapido Ownly · Rapido is leveraging Bengaluru restaurant resistance to Swiggy-Zomato commissions to scale zero-commission food-delivery app Ownly. The service,
Key facts
- Ownly claims nearly 10% of Bengaluru's online food-delivery market
- Restaurant commissions cited at 25-35%
- Food delivery rose from 10% of restaurant business before COVID-19 to about 50% for some operators
- Ownly launched officially in mid-March after a prior pilot
- Restaurant bodies sought a Swiggy resolution by August 15
Why this matters
The emergence of Ownly alongside Flipkart’s expected entry makes food delivery a more active partnership, acquisition, and defensive-alliance market, especially for platforms seeking restaurant supply or last-mile scale.
What to watch
- Verified Ownly order volumes, monthly active consumers, repeat-order rates, and whether the nearly 10% Bengaluru share is measured by orders, GMV, or selected neighborhoods.
- Restaurant retention after introductory terms, especially whether chains shift meaningful order share or merely add Ownly as a third listing.
- Changes in Swiggy and Zomato effective take rates, restaurant incentive spending, exclusivity terms, and Bengaluru delivery-fee promotions.
- Rapido's rider utilization, food delivery fulfillment times, cancellation rates, and evidence that bike-taxi supply can support peak meal periods.
- Whether Ownly monetizes via delivery fees, ads, SaaS, payment charges, or logistics fees despite its zero-commission positioning.
- The pace and choice of next-city launches, particularly whether launches follow existing Rapido mobility density.
- Flipkart's food-delivery timeline, merchant recruitment, and any partnership or acquisition activity in hyperlocal delivery.
- Consumer response to cross-category offers such as food discounts tied to Rapido rides or wallet/loyalty usage.
- Expand Ownly inside the core Rapido app with first-order discounts, bundled mobility credits, and prominent food-delivery placement.
- Prioritize independent restaurants, cloud kitchens, and regional chains that have high commission sensitivity and limited exclusivity obligations.
- Use zero or near-zero commission as a negotiating wedge, then introduce selective logistics, advertising, payment, or premium-placement fees as order volumes mature.
- Launch city clusters where Rapido already has dense rider supply rather than pursuing a broad national rollout.
- Swiggy and Zomato are likely to offer targeted commission relief, ad-credit packages, loyalty subsidies, and stronger merchant-account management in Bengaluru.
- Flipkart may accelerate a food-delivery entry or partnership strategy, using its customer base and commerce ecosystem to target value-conscious households.
Also reported by
- Inc42 — Same time