Swiggy CEO on Rapido’s food delivery entry: ‘Agile and paranoid,’ ready to respond swiftly

As Rapido gears up to enter India’s already competitive food delivery market, Swiggy’s founder and group CEO Sriharsha Majety has said that the company remains “super agile and paranoid,” and will not hesitate to act if it spots an opportunity.

Speaking at an investor event hosted by Prosus in London, Majety acknowledged that the space is not easy to crack, regardless of how well-backed the entrant is. “There were a dozen players in food delivery in 2015. In 2017, Uber and Ola threw their hat into the ring. Then, in 2019, Amazon threw its hat into the ring. In 2021, there was the entry of ONDC,” he said. “Credit to us and Zomato for having seen these…and I genuinely think we do a pretty good job of serving the consumer. It is not easy to get an opening that you can take a home run with.”

Majety was responding to a question on whether Rapido’s foray could disrupt the food delivery ecosystem. While Swiggy owns around 15% of Rapido and shares Prosus as a common investor, he noted that every company will “chart its own course.”

“It will be interesting to see if there is an alternate take to food delivery that can grow the category because we are waiting for some more growth as well,” Majety added. “If we see a new opening, we are going to be all over it. We are not going to wait and watch.”

Rapido, best known for its two-wheeler taxi services, has reportedly finalised its commission structure with restaurant partners. According to an ET report dated June 9, the platform will charge restaurants Rs 25 per order below Rs 400, and Rs 50 for orders above Rs 400. This translates to commission rates of 8–15%, lower than the 16–30% typically charged by Swiggy and Zomato.

“If there’s an opening, we will be out there in weeks. We will be trying our own luck with the customer to grow the category,” Majety said.

Majety also weighed in on the rapidly evolving quick commerce sector, estimating its size could reach $30-40 billion over the next three to five years. However, he noted that such a market would likely support only two major players, rather than five or six.

“At this point, the quick commerce market is headed towards a $30-40 billion size in three to five years. That size can support more than two players, but it is unlikely that it can support five to six players,” he said.

Currently, Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy’s own Instamart dominate the segment, holding around 85–90% of market share. According to a BofA Global Research report, this is a slight dip from 90–95% just a few months ago. The remaining market share is split between Tata Digital’s BigBasket, Flipkart Minutes, Amazon Now, and Reliance Retail’s JioMart.

“We can expect some consolidation,” Majety said. “There are three major players and four fringe players. There would be some consolidation, but in some cases, there may not even be a need because legacy ecommerce players may want to continue the offering in a bid to stay relevant.”