Chinese organizations have started to aggressively fund food delivery apps in India. Zomato, Swiggy and Food Panda are the three big players in the food delivery business in India. Zomato, in particular, has experienced promising growth from 2015 where it procured 1 million orders per month and now reached to a whopping 3 million. The overall food delivery business in India via online apps is expected to grow by 500% according to Chinese investors.
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According to reports in India media, the Zomato is currently in talks to invest in India’s online restaurant rating and food delivery platform. The report, which cited two people familiar with the matter, also noted that Ctrip is expected to invest about $100 million in Zomato.
The revenue model of such food delivery apps is from restaurant advertising and also via commissions on food delivery, along with that these online applications are also known for generating tremendous amounts of food delivery jobs and providing door to door service.
According to Chinese Media Global Times, the massive shifts in the lifestyle of modern Indians have created a smooth pathway for the industry of on-demand food delivery apps, with the individuals who set their own working hours, own pace as well as living an independent lifestyle, the service of food delivery apps fit in perfectly.
With no clear winner coming out, Zomato and Swiggy are moving in perfect competition. Ctrip is following in the footsteps of another Chinese online company that has invested in India’s food delivery sector that is – Ant Financial. It is the financial arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, which has already pumped about $150 million into Zomato, a report from qz.com noted in June.
However, the figures do not promise one per cent certainty of a bright future for these companies. As food takeout and delivery services flourish, takeaways in India have been rolling out the red carpet for Chinese investors. Following the statistics of on-demand food delivery apps, the restaurant business has increased by at least 20% than it was in the year 2014.
However, the expected growth rate for the year 2022 is 500%. Therefore the Chinese companies, consider such investment as a “strategic” choice, as said Wang Chao, a veteran in China-India business cooperation. “They don’t care about the short term, say, two or three years, of financial losses by those food delivery companies, because they want to bet on the [long-term] development.
