Rapido.
Credit: DH File Photo
Bengaluru: Popular ride hailing platform Rapido is set to pilot its food delivery services in Bengaluru from July onwards, a person aware of the development told DH. The company has also finalised its deals and partnerships with restaurants at almost half of the commissions that are provided by peers Zomato and Swiggy - the largest shareholders in the online food marketplace, the source claimed.
As per National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), the Bengaluru-headquartered company will charge a fixed fee of Rs 25 on orders under Rs 400 and Rs 50 on orders above that. “Rapido works on a fixed delivery fee model, which means if it's a Rs 150 order then 16% commission and Rs 250 order then 10% and so on. So, the higher the average order value (AOV) the lower the percentage,” the person added.
Consumers will be able to directly place an order from the Rapido app, where the partner restaurants will be listed.
This comes weeks after Vandit Mailk, Founder, The Garlic Bread took to LinkedIn to call Zomato’s model ‘unsustainable’ for small restaurant owners as it takes commission at several points of up to 30% (for discount, platform visibility). “Zomato, it’s time to rethink your model. You’re killing the very businesses you rely on,” he added.
NRAI, which is an association of 5 lakh restaurants, has helped Rapido to build its logistics. Rapido’s ride hailing services are already present on the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). To beat the high commission rates of market dominators Zomato and Swiggy as well as their own quick food delivery brand, NRAI has been on the lookout to map ONDC for providing food delivery services.
In the past few months, companies such as Zomato-owned Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy have also launched their rapid or 10-min food delivery service including Bistro, Zepto Cafe and Bolt, respectively.