कृपया इसे हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिए यहाँ क्लिक करें
Everyone’s asking the same question: why does a ₹120 sandwich cost a whopping ₹250 online? The answer lies in hidden fees, high platform commissions, and a food delivery ecosystem controlled by giants Zomato and Swiggy. These platforms, charging restaurants 16–30% commission, often force menu markups to cushion costs — and consumers end up eating them.
The Duopoly’s Toll
- High Fees, High Prices: Restaurants often inflate their menus to offset app commissions and add delivery/packaging charges — turning a humble ₹120 sandwich into a ₹250 online bill.
- Restaurant Frustration: Smaller eateries have begun to voice concerns. One restaurateur candidly shared, “Zomato is becoming unsustainable for small restaurant owners like us”. Others named random ad charges as the culprit.
- Failed Challengers: Uber Eats, Foodpanda, Amazon Food—they all tried and stumbled in India, overwhelmed by discount wars, logistics complexity, and razor-thin profits.
Enter Rapido’s Ownly: A Fresh Palette
Building on its bike-taxi fame (4 million rides daily and valued at ~$1.1 billion), Rapido is tackling food delivery with Ownly — a platform designed to:
- Eliminate commissions: Restaurants pay a flat delivery fee—not a percentage of order value.
- Guarantee honest pricing: Online menu prices match in-store prices. No surprises.
- Shift costs fairly: Restaurants pick up the delivery fee:
- ₹20 (plus GST) for orders ≤ ₹100
- ₹25 (plus GST) for ₹100–₹400
- ₹50 for orders over ₹400, within ~4 km.
- Minimal menu control: Partners must list at least four meals under ₹150 to maintain affordability focus.
- Fair visibility: Restaurants gain promotion through ratings—not paid ads.
Fuel and Funding
- Strong investor backing: Prosus, WestBridge, and Nexus Venture Partners recently pumped in ~₹200 cr total to support Ownly.
- Valuation & momentum: Rapido sits at over $1 billion, with plans to scale Ownly via subscriptions later.
- Pilot launch: Bengaluru trial is expected by late June or early July.
Will Ownly Break the Mold?
Potential Upsides:
- Empowers small eateries: Lower fees mean better margins, and shared data helps targeted marketing.
- Consumer benefits: Predictable final pricing (“offline equals online”) could win back cost-conscious users.
- Competition sparks change: Incumbents may need to reevaluate commission policies.
Key Challenges:
- Logistics & consistency: Food delivery demands speed, hygiene, and reliability — more complex than ride-hailing.
- Brand trust deficit: Zomato & Swiggy are entrenched—owning strong loyalty.
- Scale vs Sustainability: Cross-subsidized delivery is costly—Ownly will rely on high volume and future subscriptions.
Analysts caution Ownly may struggle to dent the duopoly. They cite massive logistics investment and customer expectations as major hurdles.
A Bit of Humor (Lightly Spiced)
Picture this: a bike-riding delivery person zooms past, shouting, “No hidden fees here!” — only to be outrun by deals from the same old apps. And there’s a joke among chefs: “Ownly? Sounds like ‘Only real prices!’” They laugh, but they also nod — transparency seems long overdue.
In Summary
- The problem: Hidden app fees inflate meal prices for consumers and cut margins for eateries.
- The solution pitched: Ownly offers zero commissions, equal pricing, and flat fees — shifting costs to restaurants while preserving affordability.
- The uphill battle: Logistics, scale, brand trust, and sustaining free or low-fee delivery are massive obstacles.
- The moment: If Ownly rolls out well in Bengaluru, it could push incumbents to simplify pricing. If not, it may join past failures in India’s food delivery saga.
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