Latest news with #NRAIFoodDeliverySummit
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Cooking up a storm: Rapido's foray into food delivery will be a game changer, say industry experts
The National Restaurant Association of India ( NRAI ) emphasised the importance of alternative aggregator platforms for food delivery in creating a level playing field on Wednesday, asserting that this could foster a more supportive ecosystem for all stakeholders. Internal discussions within the industry indicate that ride-hailing platform Rapido is being billed as a strong 'third alternative' to challenge the duopoly of food delivery giants Zomato and Swiggy . Top sources in the know told ET Digital that Rapido aims to foray into the food delivery market by July, either in Delhi-NCR or Bengaluru. 'There is a lot of movement going on with Rapido. It is working on a model where commission costs will be low. It could even be a subscription model,' the source said. What's cooking? According to industry experts, this development could signal change for the sector, noting that Rapido has a genuine opportunity to emerge as a third entrant. 'The advantage that it (Rapido) will get to the whole ecosystem will be lower and more democratic permissions—and that could be a game changer. It is a free market in India, and as a result, if a new player comes, that can cause a disruption,' Zorawar Kalra , the Founder and MD of Massive Restaurants, which runs chains like Farzi Café and Masala Library, told ET Digital on the sidelines of the NRAI Food Delivery Summit in the capital. Kalra also noted that having more entrants in this market is always good due to the industry's dynamic nature. In response to the government-supported network, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), currently being in 'pause' mode, Kalra stated that discussions are ongoing. 'It's definitely not eliminated from the scene,' he said. 'There are certain challenges on both sides, vis-à-vis the ecosystem. But I think they are all surmountable challenges and not insurmountable in scope. As a result, there is this dialogue via the ongoing summit, and at this point in time, it is probably not going to yield any immediate resolution,' he added. In January, NRAI had explored the possibility of onboarding member restaurants onto the ONDC platform to counter the dominance of Zomato and Swiggy. However, these plans have now come to a standstill due to the top-level reshuffle at ONDC. 'At the moment, we want to align with the new leadership at ONDC. We will only proceed further once we have the structures in place. Till then, we will keep it on hold, but we are scheduled to have a meeting with them in May. It will give us more clarity on the future of our working relationship with them,' NRAI President Sagar Daryani stated. In April, ONDC MD and CEO Thampy Koshy resigned, citing personal reasons. His exit had been preceded by the departure of ONDC's Chief Business Officer, Shireesh Joshi ,who quit after 3.5 years at the organisation. The 20-minute game Food delivery revolves around timing. Consumers want quicker delivery. While retail democratisation is a great idea, it comes down to a 20-minute play in the food sector, said Ashish Tulsian , Co-founder & CEO of restaurant management platform Restroworks. 'So, if everyone—order buyer, order receiver, restaurants and logistics players—is disjointed then it is difficult to understand who is owning the responsibility towards the customers. The platform hasn't picked up only since owning responsibility in that network is not very well-defined and it has not got good customer feedback. Unless someone owns it, it won't work,' he stated. He added that while aggregators Zomato and Swiggy are very important from a customer perspective, the duopoly is not helping restaurants on the business front. 'It has changed the entire margin profile of restaurants. Up until 7-8 years back, restaurants used to be at 70-75 per cent gross margins and 20-25 per cent net business. Today it is down to 5 per cent because 20-25 per cent goes towards commission, logistics, and packaging costs that have come up. So, there will be alternatives that come up just organically in the market,' he said. Regarding the buzz about Rapido making a foray into food delivery, Tulsian said that 'this is inevitable' in the times ahead. 'A very important ingredient in becoming a successful third platform is logistics, so whoever owns logistics has a great shot at it. Whether they will succeed or not is another story, but this factor contributes towards them being a significant contender,' he explained. Some in the industry propose a model resembling a service-based platform that manages the end-to-end delivery process. Amit Bagga , Co-founder & CEO of Daryaganj Restaurant , emphasised that the need of the hour is to find someone who is very strong in logistics and can give proper visibility as far as last-mile logistics is concerned. 'The customer will not suffer in such a scenario if a reliable player takes it up. There could be two parts to it. One is creating the demand, and the other is logistics. If it is a logistics platform, it could be a service-based approach to the restaurant, where we can pay for every order chosen as a logistics service,' he said. Bagga noted that the maximum orders come between 8 and 10 pm, with a noticeable surge during that time frame. 'So, if I am aiming to do 10-15 orders at one point of time, I will not have that many riders. So, the logistics player can ensure that the orders generated get delivered, obviously at a price. And it could be that in those three hours, people could be charging a higher price compared to what they charge normally. But then it makes sense, as we just need the extra people for those hours and not the entire day. This cannot be done by us, so a strong logistics player who takes up the end-to-end management in a seamless manner to the guest will stand out,' he explained. Fair marketplace Independent experts reason that alternate food aggregators can serve as a catalyst for change in the prevailing duopoly of the food distribution market. 'They can act as a control checkpoint for platform providers from dominating the market with respect to high commission and limited bargaining power for restaurant owners,' Arun Moral, MD of Primus Partners India, said. He added that a level playing field can be ensured by promoting hyperlocal and niche discoverability, which will support smaller or regional F&B brands. 'Alternatives can act as pseudo regulators and marketing-correcting agents and ensure equilibrium across restaurant owners, industry associations, consumers, and regulators. This shift could lead to a more democratised food delivery space, giving power back to restaurants and consumers while maintaining a fair marketplace,' Moral said.
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Cooking up a storm: Rapido's foray into food delivery will be a game changer, say industry experts
The National Restaurant Association of India ( NRAI ) emphasised the importance of alternative aggregator platforms for food delivery in creating a level playing field on Wednesday, asserting that this could foster a more supportive ecosystem for all stakeholders. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack A Chinese shadow falls on Pahalgam terror attack case probe How India can use water to pressure Pakistan Buzzkill: How India can dissolve the Pakistan problem, not just swat it Internal discussions within the industry indicate that ride-hailing platform Rapido is being billed as a strong 'third alternative' to challenge the duopoly of food delivery giants Zomato and Swiggy . Top sources in the know told ET Digital that Rapido aims to foray into the food delivery market by July, either in Delhi-NCR or Bengaluru. 'There is a lot of movement going on with Rapido. It is working on a model where commission costs will be low. It could even be a subscription model,' the source said. What's cooking? Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. According to industry experts, this development could signal change for the sector, noting that Rapido has a genuine opportunity to emerge as a third entrant. 'The advantage that it (Rapido) will get to the whole ecosystem will be lower and more democratic permissions—and that could be a game changer. It is a free market in India, and as a result, if a new player comes, that can cause a disruption,' Zorawar Kalra , the Founder and MD of Massive Restaurants, which runs chains like Farzi Café and Masala Library, told ET Digital on the sidelines of the NRAI Food Delivery Summit in the capital. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Salaried Employees In DELHI Get ₹2 Crore Life Cover at Just ₹876/Month Best Term Insurance! Click Here Undo Kalra also noted that having more entrants in this market is always good due to the industry's dynamic nature. In response to the government-supported network, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), currently being in 'pause' mode, Kalra stated that discussions are ongoing. 'It's definitely not eliminated from the scene,' he said. 'There are certain challenges on both sides, vis-à-vis the ecosystem. But I think they are all surmountable challenges and not insurmountable in scope. As a result, there is this dialogue via the ongoing summit, and at this point in time, it is probably not going to yield any immediate resolution,' he added. In January, NRAI had explored the possibility of onboarding member restaurants onto the ONDC platform to counter the dominance of Zomato and Swiggy. However, these plans have now come to a standstill due to the top-level reshuffle at ONDC. 'At the moment, we want to align with the new leadership at ONDC. We will only proceed further once we have the structures in place. Till then, we will keep it on hold, but we are scheduled to have a meeting with them in May. It will give us more clarity on the future of our working relationship with them,' NRAI President Sagar Daryani stated. Live Events In April, ONDC MD and CEO Thampy Koshy resigned, citing personal reasons. His exit had been preceded by the departure of ONDC's Chief Business Officer, Shireesh Joshi ,who quit after 3.5 years at the organisation. The 20-minute game Food delivery revolves around timing. Consumers want quicker delivery. While retail democratisation is a great idea, it comes down to a 20-minute play in the food sector, said Ashish Tulsian , Co-founder & CEO of restaurant management platform Restroworks. 'So, if everyone—order buyer, order receiver, restaurants and logistics players—is disjointed then it is difficult to understand who is owning the responsibility towards the customers. The platform hasn't picked up only since owning responsibility in that network is not very well-defined and it has not got good customer feedback. Unless someone owns it, it won't work,' he stated. He added that while aggregators Zomato and Swiggy are very important from a customer perspective, the duopoly is not helping restaurants on the business front. 'It has changed the entire margin profile of restaurants. Up until 7-8 years back, restaurants used to be at 70-75% gross margins and 20-25% net business. Today it is down to 5% because 20-25% goes towards commission, logistics, and packaging costs that have come up. So, there will be alternatives that come up just organically in the market,' he said. Regarding the buzz about Rapido making a foray into food delivery, Tulsian said that 'this is inevitable' in the times ahead. 'A very important ingredient in becoming a successful third platform is logistics, so whoever owns logistics has a great shot at it. Whether they will succeed or not is another story, but this factor contributes towards them being a significant contender,' he explained. Some in the industry propose a model resembling a service-based platform that manages the end-to-end delivery process. Amit Bagga , Co-founder & CEO of Daryaganj Restaurant , emphasised that the need of the hour is to find someone who is very strong in logistics and can give proper visibility as far as last-mile logistics is concerned. 'The customer will not suffer in such a scenario if a reliable player takes it up. There could be two parts to it. One is creating the demand, and the other is logistics. If it is a logistics platform, it could be a service-based approach to the restaurant, where we can pay for every order chosen as a logistics service,' he said. Bagga noted that the maximum orders come between 8 and 10 pm, with a noticeable surge during that time frame. 'So, if I am aiming to do 10-15 orders at one point of time, I will not have that many riders. So, the logistics player can ensure that the orders generated get delivered, obviously at a price. And it could be that in those three hours, people could be charging a higher price compared to what they charge normally. But then it makes sense, as we just need the extra people for those hours and not the entire day. This cannot be done by us, so a strong logistics player who takes up the end-to-end management in a seamless manner to the guest will stand out,' he explained. Fair marketplace Independent experts reason that alternate food aggregators can serve as a catalyst for change in the prevailing duopoly of the food distribution market. 'They can act as a control checkpoint for platform providers from dominating the market with respect to high commission and limited bargaining power for restaurant owners,' Arun Moral, MD of Primus Partners India, said. He added that a level playing field can be ensured by promoting hyperlocal and niche discoverability, which will support smaller or regional F&B brands. 'Alternatives can act as pseudo regulators and marketing-correcting agents and ensure equilibrium across restaurant owners, industry associations, consumers, and regulators. This shift could lead to a more democratised food delivery space, giving power back to restaurants and consumers while maintaining a fair marketplace,' Moral said.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Food delivery can be cheaper if we have access to consumer data: NRAI's Sagar Daryani
Sagar Daryani , President of the National Restaurant Association of India ( NRAI ), on Tuesday discussed the issue of limited access to consumer data , which contributes to rising marketing costs. He noted that this situation is rendering food delivery as an expensive proposition in the present scenario. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack The groundwork before India mounts a strike at Pakistan India considers closing airspace to Pakistani carriers amid rising tensions Cold Start: India's answer to Pakistan's nuclear threats 'We don't have the data for our respective brands. Food aggregators Swiggy and Zomato have the entire tech stack; nothing stops them from migrating our consumers to their platform. So, we feel it is not a level playing field, and we have been cornered,' he said during an interaction with ET Digital ahead of the NRAI Food Delivery Summit on Wednesday. 'NRAI is working on the matter with its legal teams,' he said. Founded in 1982, NRAI represents the interests of over 500,000 restaurants through advocacy, training, research, and industry events. Daryani said that food delivery can only become cheaper if commissions and marketing costs decrease. 'For marketing costs to go down, we need to get a database, which we feel is our democratic right. My marketing funnelling can be better today if I know my customers. I can reduce costs by knowing exactly who I am tracking because today, as a customer, there is cross-pollination,' he said. The NRAI President further said that questions such as the frequency of app usage, the timings of the app visits, consumption patterns, and whether the consumption is online or offline are all significant data points to funnel market spends in a better manner. 'If my cost comes down, I will not keep my online pricing higher than offline pricing and will pass on that benefit to the customer,' he said. Live Events Daryani elaborated on the prevalence of this practice among food aggregators, stating that their rationale is rooted in the belief that the data should not be misused. 'Data is their main asset. Today, whatever number they throw at us, we believe them blindly. We have no other source,' he lamented. In January this year, Zomato-owned Blinkit and Swiggy launched standalone apps Bistro and Snacc, respectively, for 10-minute food delivery. This was perceived as a setback for the restaurant industry, which had sought the intervention of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) regarding these unfair trade practices. In agreement with Daryani, Arun Moral, MD of Primus Partners India, explained that food aggregator platforms can utilise technology to potentially influence consumer preferences by offering personalised recommendations, manipulating search results, and utilising data to target specific demographics. To address this, he noted that certain tech interventions may involve data anonymisation and a differential privacy approach. 'This will ensure that user data cannot be traced back to the respective individuals. Companies like Apple and Google have adopted differential privacy to enhance user data protection. Algorithmic transparency tools can help to make sure that recommendation and ranking algorithms operate fairly and without bias towards the platform's own services,' he said. In response to Zomato and Swiggy, restaurants are reportedly in discussions with ride-hailing app Rapido to add food delivery as a service on its platform, according to a report in ET in March. The report indicated that this would challenge the current commission structures imposed by Zomato and Swiggy. The current developments in the food sector have particularly had an impact on the smaller food eateries . Alluding to how the smaller players in the food industry are faring, Daryani stated that they have it as 'very tough' right now. 'There is a sense of fear, and they are finding it very difficult to survive. The smaller brands are feeling the heat. It just goes back to survival of the fittest. The industry looks very lucrative from outside, but from inside, when you enter, one can feel the pain deeply,' he said.
