Walmart-owned Flipkart is gearing up to enter India’s online food delivery market, with a pilot launch expected in the coming weeks through the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
The company will initially introduce the service on a limited scale, following the phased approach it adopted for its quick commerce platform, Flipkart Minutes, before expanding based on customer feedback and demand.
Announcing the development, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group, said the company plans to test its value proposition before scaling the business.
"We will launch food delivery in the next few weeks. Like everything else we do, we will launch food delivery first, test the value proposition with customers, take feedback and continue improving the product until it really appeals to the customer. After that, we'll start scaling it," Krishnamurthy said.
The food delivery service will be accessible through both a dedicated app and an integration within the main Flipkart app.
According to reports, Flipkart's food delivery business will be powered by ONDC, marking another major e-commerce player leveraging the open network to challenge incumbent food delivery platforms.
The move comes amid increasing competition in India's online food delivery market, where companies are experimenting with new business models to attract both restaurants and consumers.
Ride-hailing platform Rapido recently introduced its food delivery offering, Ownly, with a model centred on zero restaurant commissions, lower prices and its existing logistics network. Meanwhile, Swiggy has launched Toing, a value-focused food delivery service aimed at price-conscious consumers.
Krishnamurthy said Flipkart's long-term ambition is to offer customers a comprehensive selection of restaurants.
"If it's part of the Flipkart app, people will go in with the expectation that most of the catalogue available in the market should be on the app. We will, over time, make an effort to cover the entire catalogue," he said.
