Walmart-owned Flipkart is piloting a food delivery service, 'Eat-in by Minutes,' to compete with incumbents Zomato and Swiggy. By leveraging its Ekart logistics network, Flipkart aims to attract restaurant partners with lower commission fees. However, investors will monitor whether the company can overcome strong consumer brand loyalty and the high costs of customer acquisition that have hindered previous entrants.
Walmart-backed Flipkart is moving to disrupt the Indian food delivery sector by testing a new service internally. The company has begun trials with its employees in Bengaluru, using its existing logistics arm, Ekart, to handle deliveries. This service, branded as 'Eat-in by Minutes,' aims to integrate food delivery into Flipkart’s broader digital ecosystem, which already includes e-commerce, travel, and quick-commerce offerings.
Flipkart is positioning its entry by challenging the commission structures of the current market leaders, Zomato and Swiggy. The National Restaurant Association of India has often raised concerns about the high commission rates charged by the dominant platforms, which typically range from 20% to 25%. Flipkart is reportedly offering a lower base commission of approximately 10% to restaurant partners. The goal is to keep total costs—including marketing and promotions—at around 15% to 16% of an order value, potentially offering better profit margins for partner restaurants.
Challenges and Market Context
While the lower commission model is designed to attract sellers, gaining market share in the food delivery segment has proven difficult for large players. Previously, companies like Amazon, Uber, and Google have attempted to enter the space but struggled to secure a significant footprint. The primary hurdle for any new entrant is changing consumer habits. Zomato and Swiggy have spent years building strong brand loyalty and deep delivery networks, creating a competitive environment where customers are accustomed to their platforms.
According to research from Bernstein, the potential savings passed on to the end consumer may be limited, estimated at around ₹20 to ₹30 per order. This small difference might not be enough to shift users away from established apps, especially if those apps respond with aggressive discounting to protect their market share. For Flipkart, this means that even if it gains support from restaurant partners, it will likely face a high cost of customer acquisition to win over the average user.
Investor Monitorables
The public rollout of the service is expected to begin in late October, with initial expansion planned across five to six Indian cities by the end of 2026. For investors, the key monitorable will be the company’s ability to manage unit economics while scaling. If Flipkart initiates a price war to attract users, it could lead to higher cash burn, which might pressure overall financial performance. The success of this venture will depend not just on the lower commission rates offered to restaurants, but on whether the company can achieve the delivery speed, service quality, and platform convenience required to compete with two deeply entrenched incumbents.