As mobility startup Rapido prepares to enter the fiercely competitive food delivery segment, Swiggy founder and group CEO Sriharsha Majety has signalled that the company is ready to respond swiftly to any shifts in the landscape. Speaking at an investor conference hosted by Prosus in London, Majety described Swiggy as “super agile and paranoid,” underscoring its readiness to act decisively when opportunity strikes.
Rapido, best known for its two-wheeler ride-hailing service, is reportedly finalising its plans for food delivery with a pricing strategy designed to undercut incumbents. As per media reports, the platform will charge restaurants Rs 25 per order for those under Rs 400 and Rs 50 for orders above that value. This translates to an 8–15% commission, significantly lower than the 16–30% typically collected by market leaders Swiggy and Zomato. Despite holding a 15% stake in Rapido and sharing Prosus as a common investor, Swiggy is preparing to stay competitive. Majety was candid about the challenges of building scale in food delivery, even for well-funded newcomers.
“There were a dozen players in food delivery in 2015. In 2017, Uber and Ola threw their hat into the ring. Then, in 2019, Amazon threw its hat into the ring. In 2021, there was the entry of ONDC,” he said. “Credit to us and Zomato for having seen these…and I genuinely think we do a pretty good job of serving the consumer. It is not easy to get an opening that you can take a home run with.”
When asked specifically about Rapido’s upcoming entry and its potential to disrupt the space, Majety suggested that there was still room for innovation, if it could grow the overall market. “I think it will be interesting to see if there is an alternate take to food delivery that can grow the category because we are waiting for some more growth as well,” he said. “We are definitely super agile and paranoid. If we see a new opening, we are going to be all over it.”
He added, “If there’s an opening, we will be out there in weeks. We will be trying our own luck with the customer to grow the category. We are not going to wait and watch.”
Majety also offered his outlook on India’s quick commerce sector, which he believes is on track to become a $30–40 billion market within the next three to five years. However, he cautioned that the sector would likely only support a limited number of players at scale. “At this point, the quick commerce market is headed towards a $30–40 billion size in three to five years. That size can support more than two players, but it is unlikely that it can support five to six players,” he said.
Swiggy’s Instamart currently competes with Blinkit and Zepto, which together hold between 85% and 90% of the market. According to a recent BofA Global Research note, that figure is a slight decrease from earlier levels of 90–95%, as smaller players such as BigBasket (backed by Tata Digital), Flipkart Minutes, Amazon Now, and JioMart by Reliance Retail continue to operate on the fringes. “We can expect some consolidation,” Majety noted. “If you look at the structure of the category, there are three major players and four fringe players. There would be some consolidation, but in some cases, there may not even be a need because the legacy ecommerce players may want to continue the offering in a bid to stay relevant for their consumers… it may continue but won’t expand the pie as we’re seeing already today.”