India’s food delivery sector has long been dominated by two giants: Swiggy and Zomato, which together command an estimated 95% of the market. But in 2025, a new challenger is preparing to enter the fray-Rapido, the bike-taxi disruptor valued at $1.1 billion. Rather than mimicking the incumbents, Rapido is pursuing a logistics-first, tech-driven playbook that could reshape the industry’s economics and power dynamics.
A Different Playbook: Logistics First, Marketplace Second
Unlike Swiggy and Zomato, which built their businesses around consumer-facing marketplaces and high commission fees, Rapido is leveraging its core strength: logistics. Already a key delivery partner for Swiggy, ONDC, and numerous restaurants, Rapido’s infrastructure is battle-tested and optimized for cost efficiency. The company’s entry into food delivery will be staged:
- Start with B2B delivery infrastructure: Rapido already powers deliveries for major platforms and restaurants, giving it deep operational experience and data.
- Build a consumer marketplace next: The plan is to integrate restaurants into the Rapido app, offering food delivery directly to consumers.
- Monetize through subscriptions, not commissions: Rapido is in talks with restaurants to adopt a flat-fee subscription model, rather than the industry-standard 25–35% commission per order.
Why It Matters: Lower Costs, New Economics
For Restaurants:
High commission rates have long been a pain point for restaurant partners, often forcing them to raise prices or accept razor-thin margins. Rapido’s subscription model offers predictable, lower costs, potentially enabling restaurants to offer more competitive pricing to customers.
For Consumers:
Rapido’s bike-only fleet and focus on short-distance deliveries (within 5 km) allow for lower delivery costs, with average order values targeted at ₹250-significantly below the ₹400–₹450 AOVs typical for Swiggy and Zomato. This could open up the market to more price-sensitive users, especially in Tier 2/3 cities where Rapido already has a strong presence.
For the Market:
Rapido’s native integration with ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) gives it a technological edge, while Swiggy is still experimenting and Zomato has distanced itself from the network. This could help Rapido tap into a broader ecosystem of digital commerce in India.
The Numbers: How Do They Stack Up?
| Company | FY25 Food Delivery Revenue | Total Revenue (FY25) | Profit/Loss (FY25) | Restaurant Partners (Q4 FY24) | Avg. Order Value (AOV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zomato | ₹8,080 Cr (+27% YoY) | ₹21,320 Cr (+64.5%) | ₹527 Cr profit | 306,000 | ₹400–₹450 |
| Swiggy | ₹6,362 Cr (+22.5% YoY) | ₹15,623 Cr (+34.3%) | ₹3,117 Cr loss | 243,400 | ₹400–₹450 |
| Rapido | ₹648 Cr (+20% YoY, all ops) | N/A | ₹760 Cr loss (↓) | N/A | Target: ₹250 |
Rapido is reducing its losses faster than the established players, despite ongoing cash burn.
Execution: What Will It Take?
Rapido’s earlier success in ride-hailing was driven by:
- Subscription-led monetization for drivers
- Tier 2/3 city focus
- Asset-light operations
- CAC reduction via on-ground activations
This allowed Rapido to scale to 120 cities and 3.5 million rides per day. However, food delivery is a tougher market. Success will hinge not just on logistics, but also on:
- A premium user-facing app
- Restaurant variety and quality
- Loyalty programs
- Delivery reliability
Challenges and Opportunities
Funding Gap:
Rapido’s recent ₹250 Cr fundraise is dwarfed by the marketing and operational spends of Swiggy and Zomato, who invest multiples of that every quarter on loyalty, cloud kitchens, and dark stores.
Market Entry:
Rapido is piloting its service in Bengaluru, focusing initially on major chains like McDonald’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut, and high-frequency cloud kitchens. This allows for quick, dense, and cost-effective delivery, but scaling to the long tail of independent restaurants will be crucial for mass adoption.
Restaurant and User Sentiment:
Industry experts see Rapido as a genuine “third alternative” that could democratize the sector and bring much-needed margin relief to restaurants. For users, the value proposition is clear: affordable delivery, if the experience matches expectations.
The Road Ahead: A Third Plate at the Table?
From an investor’s perspective, Rapido’s model is capex-light, ONDC-native, and built for long-term scale. For analysts, it’s a classic case of leveraging existing infrastructure to expand into new verticals. For restaurants, it’s a chance to regain margin control. For users, it’s a promise of savings-if the service delivers on quality and reliability.
If Rapido can replicate its logistics-led disruption in food delivery, it could wedge itself into the cracks left by Swiggy and Zomato. There may finally be room for a third plate on India’s food-tech table.
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