Rapido’s standalone food delivery app Ownly has begun offering discounts to customers, marking a departure from its no-discount positioning on which the brand was built, even as it prepares to expand beyond Bengaluru.
The app’s home screen now features a flat 25% discount prompt in Bengaluru, where Ownly ran a pilot of its services from August 2025 before its citywide launch in early March this year. Its promise of no delivery and packaging fees remains intact, with Rapido expected to absorb the cost of the discounts rather than pass it on to restaurants.
The move marks a deviation from the pitch Rapido made at Ownly’s launch. At a town hall hosted by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), Rapido had said the platform would operate without discounts, with restaurants required to maintain the same prices on online and offline menus and compete on food quality rather than promotions. It had pitched the model as one where restaurants would not bear the cost of hidden discounts or absorb any extra charges.
Similarly, its launch campaign had promised no inflated menu pricing and no misleading discounts.
The shift in strategy matters most for Ownly’s economics. The platform charges restaurants no commission and collects only a flat Rs 30 delivery fee from customers, with no advertising, subscription or listing revenue. It is currently waiving even the delivery fee in the initial phase to build traction.
FE had earlier reported that Ownly’s cash burn would likely be around Rs 110 per order. But now, it is set to rise to Rs 130-140 per order on the back of the discounts, according to industry sources. The app is currently handling over 10,000 orders a day, the sources added. However, the added incentive is expected to drive order volumes.
The pivot comes as Ownly prepares to enter its second city after Bengaluru. The company is readying a pilot in select pincodes of Pune and is targetting a launch by the end of July or early August, according to people aware of the matter. It had earlier indicated plans to take the app to 10 cities by mid-2026.
The timing also coincides with Rapido’s fundraising. In May, the company secured $240 million in a round led by Prosus, with WestBridge and Accel participating, valuing it at around $3 billion. The company, which is preparing for an initial public offering, narrowed its net loss by about 30% to Rs 258 crore in FY25 while crossing Rs 1,000 crore in revenue.
The move also comes as Rapido’s broader user base has expanded sharply. The company averaged 82 million monthly active users between March and May, up 67% year-on-year, according to app intelligence firm Sensor Tower. That puts it ahead of Blinkit (79 million), Swiggy (67 million), Zomato (63 million) and Zepto (58 million). Ownly is Rapido’s attempt to convert that scale into food delivery orders.
Rapido did not respond to queries till the time of going to press.