Walmart-backed Flipkart is preparing to reportedly enter India's online food delivery space in the coming weeks, positioning itself against established players Zomato and Swiggy. Flipkart Group chief executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy confirmed the move in an interview with the TOI, describing food delivery as a new use case that will sit within the company's broader e-commerce platform. The company plans to begin with a pilot phase before expanding based on customer response.
Deep integration with ONDC planned
According to Krishnamurthy, Flipkart intends to build its food delivery offering with close integration into the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The service is expected to be available through Flipkart's main platform, with the company also testing a standalone app before scaling operations further.
Bengaluru likely to be first market
Flipkart is expected to launch the service in Bengaluru at a considerable scale, given the expectations customers typically associate with any Flipkart-branded product or service. The city is seen as a natural starting point given its dense delivery infrastructure and high demand for online food ordering.
Part of a wider ecosystem strategy
The food delivery push fits into Flipkart's broader strategy of expanding across products and services under one ecosystem. The group already operates in fashion through Myntra, travel through Cleartrip, financial services through super.money, and quick commerce through Flipkart Minutes. Food delivery would mark its entry into another high-frequency consumer category.
A crowded and evolving market
Flipkart's entry comes at a time when the food delivery sector is witnessing fresh experimentation from newer entrants. Eternal-owned Zomato and Swiggy continue to dominate the space, but ride-hailing platform Rapido has recently introduced Ownly, a zero-commission model designed to keep menu prices closer to offline rates. Swiggy, meanwhile, has launched Toing, targeted at value-conscious consumers, as competition in the category continues to intensify.
