Walmart’s Flipkart is quietly building a food delivery challenger in India

Walmart-owned Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart is quietly developing a food delivery service to challenge the dominance of Zomato and Swiggy. The Bengaluru-based company is testing the service internally, with its employee-only version currently serving more than 8,000 people. The company has also deployed a dedicated fleet of riders through its logistics arm, Ekart, to prepare for a public launch.

Flipkart is leveraging its ONDC network, which connects buyers and sellers across various platforms, as well as restaurants it has directly signed up, to offer its food delivery service. The company aims to launch publicly by the end of October and expand to five or six cities by the end of the year. Flipkart's move comes as competition in India's e-commerce market intensifies, with quick-commerce platforms now selling a wide range of products, including electronics.

Despite the potential for new entrants to lower costs for restaurants by as much as 40% to 50%, Flipkart's base commission is expected to be around 10%, which could still result in substantial savings for restaurants. However, convincing restaurants to join Flipkart's platform and winning over customers may prove challenging, as the two dominant players in the market, Zomato and Swiggy, serve a combined 85 million to 95 million paying customers annually.