Rapido enters food delivery race: Offers restaurant tie-ups at nearly half the commission charged by Zomato, Swiggy
NEW DELHI: Rapido, the ride-hailing platform, is set to shake up the food delivery market by partnering with restaurants at commission rates nearly 50% lower than those charged by major players Swiggy and Zomato, according to sources familiar with the matter.The collaboration with the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) indicates that Rapido will implement commission rates between 8-15%, substantially lower than the 16-30% charged by Swiggy and Zomato, an executives told the Economic Times.The agreed terms specify that Rapido will levy “Rs 25 on orders below Rs 400 and Rs 50 on orders over Rs 400”, resulting in commission rates of 8-15% from restaurants, whilst Zomato and Swiggy maintain their 16-30% rates. Customers will access restaurant listings through the Rapido application.“We have been in talks with Rapido for the past few months, similar to how we are working closely with ONDC. We are aiming to create a partnership model that is both economically fair and sustainable for restaurants,” said NRAI president Sagar Daryani.He did not comment on specific partnership terms but added, “It’s also very important for us to know our customers and the same has been candidly communicated to them,” Daryani added. Disagreements between restaurants and large platforms often revolve around allegations of data masking.Rapido has not responded to requests for comment. Their bike-taxi riders currently maintain a limited arrangement with Swiggy for food deliveries in select locations. The NRAI, representing over 500,000 restaurants, initiated a similar ONDC partnership in January, though terms remain under discussion.Several small restaurant owners have raised concerns about high charges on food delivery platforms. Vandit Malik, founder of The Garlic Bread, recently said Zomato is becoming unsustainable for small businesses due to costly ads.In a LinkedIn post, he claimed he spends over ₹30 per order just to stay visible on the app, leaving little to no profit.“Zomato is becoming unsustainable for small restaurant owners like us. To even be visible on the platform, I’m forced to spend Rs 30+ per order on ads. What’s left? Pennies. Sometimes, not even that,” he alleged.Saffroma, a small restaurant based in NCR, recently announced on X that it was leaving Zomato. The owners cited problems like no payouts, unclear service charges, and ads run without their approval. The post later went viral but has since been deleted.
