Ride-hailing platform Rapido ventures into food delivery

File picture: A bike taxi rider waiting for his customer.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAYA BHASKAR CH

Rapido is entering the food delivery segment with a new platform that charges restaurants a fixed fee per order, according to a proposal to restaurants seen by Reuters on Monday, as the ride-hailing platform looks to compete with Swiggy and Eternal’s Zomato.

Swiggy and Zomato charge commission fees ranging from 16% to 30% on restaurant partners. Restaurants argue this forces them to inflate menu prices on these platforms, resulting in higher prices for consumers,compared to in-store dining.

Rapido, Eternal and Swiggy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In its proposal, Rapido has asked partners to keep its pricing the same on the platform and in-store, with restaurants paying a fixed delivery fee of ₹25 ($0.2919) and taxes for orders worth more than ₹100.

Customers would not need to pay platform or packaging fees, but will be charged a small delivery fee for orders below ₹100. The proposal did not specify what the fee would be or whether customers would be charged for orders above ₹100.

The firm will charge a flat subscription fee from restaurants at a later time, the proposal added.

Rapido, in which Swiggy is an investor, was valued at $1.1 billion in its last funding round in 2024, according to data from Tracxn.

Shares of Eternal and Swiggy closed 1.9% and 2.6% lower on Monday, respectively.

In a post-earnings call with analysts earnings last month, when asked about reports of Rapido’s subscription-based model, Eternal CFO Akshant Goyal said he was not clear “how that model can make sense in the long run for all our stakeholders and us”. ($1 = 85.6420 Indian rupees) 

Published on June 9, 2025