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For years, restaurants have complained about the commissions, visibility charges, and other fees levied by food delivery platforms. But with little competition to Swiggy and Eternal-owned Zomato, they have largely had no choice but to absorb the costs as food delivery became an increasingly important part of their business.

However, this equation may now be beginning to shift. Bengaluru’s restaurant owners have escalated their standoff with Swiggy over commissions and sought a resolution by August 15, while Rapido’s zero-commission food delivery platform Ownly has strengthened efforts to position itself as an alternative for restaurant partners. 

Launched as a standalone app in select Bengaluru pincodes in March this year after a pilot which began last year, Ownly claims to have captured nearly 10% of the city’s online food delivery market. Earlier this week, Rapido also integrated Ownly’s service into its main app, making food ordering available alongside bike taxis, autos and cab bookings. 

The timing could work in Rapido’s favour. Restaurant bodies, led by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), have become increasingly vocal about the economics of food delivery, arguing that commissions of 25-35% and other platform charges have significantly squeezed restaurant margins over the years.

NRAI president and Wow! Momo cofounder Sagar Daryani said the economics of food delivery have fundamentally changed for restaurants since the pandemic.

“Before Covid-19, food delivery was just 10% of a restaurant’s business. Today, it is the heart of the business, and when your heart of the business becomes 50%, we had never done the pricing where a 20% commission was factored in the earlier years,” Daryani told Inc42.

“Now, for that same customer who would come to you, you are paying 20% commission and having it delivered to their place. That’s been the biggest shift. That’s why it becomes very important for our P&Ls to make sense.”

While discussions between restaurant associations and the food delivery platforms are ongoing, Daryani said he remains optimistic that the issues can be resolved through dialogue.

“I think the heat is being experienced by them (Zomato and Swiggy) and they understand where we are coming from… I personally believe that it can get sorted out and resolved with dialogue,” he said.

Rapido believes the growing discontent among restaurant partners creates an opportunity for a fundamentally different approach to food delivery.

Unlike Swiggy and Zomato, Ownly does not charge commissions from restaurants. Instead, customers pay separately for food and delivery, with Rapido positioning the model as more transparent for both consumers and restaurant partners.

Ownly executive Vivek Vashishta said the platform is built around three principles – zero platform costs for restaurants, transparent pricing for customers, and equal opportunity for restaurants, irrespective of their size.

Ownly, earlier this week, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the NRAI. Rapido cofounder and CEO Aravind Sanka told Inc42 that the partnership would help strengthen Ownly’s engagement with restaurant partners as it expands the platform across the country.

Since launching officially in mid-March, Ownly has expanded to most parts of Bengaluru and plans to enter more cities beginning next quarter.

However, Rapido’s bet is not merely on zero commissions. The unicorn believes its existing ride-hailing business gives it a structural advantage over traditional food delivery platforms. Unlike standalone food delivery companies that rely on dedicated delivery fleets, Ownly can tap Rapido’s nationwide network of bike taxi captains, allowing it to improve rider utilisation across different use cases.

The economics are also driven by demand patterns. While bike taxi demand is concentrated around office commute hours, food delivery typically peaks during lunch and dinner, enabling Rapido to utilise the same rider network across multiple services instead of maintaining separate fleets.

It also expects integration within the Rapido app to lower customer acquisition costs by offering food delivery to users who already rely on the platform for daily mobility.

Ownly’s expansion comes at a time when competition in India’s food delivery market is intensifying. Besides attempting to capitalise on the growing dissatisfaction among restaurant owners, it is also preparing for fresh competition from Walmart-owned Flipkart, which is set to enter the food delivery segment soon. The ecommerce giant is expected to begin with Bengaluru before expanding further, setting the stage for a fresh challenge to the Swiggy-Zomato duopoly.

For restaurants, the emergence of new platforms could strengthen their negotiating position after years of operating in a market dominated by two players. However, for Rapido, Flipkart, and other future entrants, winning restaurant support is only one part of the challenge.

Swiggy and Zomato continue to dominate India’s online food delivery market through years of investments in logistics, restaurant selection, customer loyalty programmes, and consumer acquisition. Whether Ownly’s zero-commission model can translate into meaningful market share gains beyond Bengaluru will ultimately depend on its ability to convince consumers, not just restaurants, to change long-established ordering habits.

The post Bengaluru Restaurants’ Pushback Gives Rapido’s Ownly An Opening Against Swiggy, Zomato appeared first on Inc42 Media.