Flipkart
is all set to debut its food delivery service later this month. Backed by millions of users, lower platform fees and logistics support from Minutes and Ekart, Flipkart is gearing up to challenge Zomato and Swiggy. So, can the ecommerce giant break the entrenched duopoly?
A New Challenger: Flipkart plans to launch food delivery in Bengaluru later this month, with expansion to other cities later this year. A standalone app is in development, but Flipkart Minutes will initially manage orders and fulfilment. With roughly 500 Mn registered users and around 40 Mn SuperCoins users, Flipkart has a large base to which it can cross-sell food orders without starting from zero.
An Integrated Ecosystem: To minimise operational cash burn during rollout, Flipkart is leveraging its existing infrastructure rather than building a new network from scratch. The service will initially use Ekart’s logistics network and ONDC integration for restaurant onboarding. Meanwhile, SuperCoins loyalty integration will enable discounts without sacrificing platform margins.
Economics Over Novelty: Amid the ongoing standoff between restaurants and the foodtechs over commissions, Flipkart’s food delivery platform is centring its pitch on merchant economics. The ecommerce major is considering a base commission of 12%-13% (against 30% on rivals) and capping marketing and advertising spends, directly addressing one of the restaurant industry’s main grievances against Zomato and Swiggy.
The Road Ahead: While Flipkart will be looking to tap into its deep pockets to challenge the incumbents, scale alone has not helped earlier challengers. Amazon Food, Ola, Paytm, Tata Neu and others previously tried and failed to alter consumer behaviour. As a result, discounting, faster delivery and strategic restaurant tie-ups remain the main tools for a new entrant in the capital-intensive and low-margin food delivery businesses.
With much on its plate, can Flipkart’s lower commissions and logistics break the habits that have protected Swiggy and Zomato for so long? Let’s find out…
Conventional drones often struggle under dense canopies, around obstacles and in areas where GPS signals weaken. SUIND is tackling this gap with its vision-first autonomous aircraft for farmers that can navigate close to the ground and spray more accurately.
Flying Without GPS: Founded in 2022, SUIND develops unmanned aerial systems that use computer vision instead of relying primarily on GPS. Its systems interpret terrain, crop structures and obstacles in real time, allowing drones to operate in uneven, cluttered and low-altitude environments.
Going The Agri Route: SUIND’s flagship Bumblebee is a DGCA type-certified autonomous spraying drone designed for plantations and tall crops. It has already been deployed across sugarcane, rubber and banana farms, where it supports precision spraying and crop monitoring. Bumblebee can also return automatically when its spray tank is empty or battery reserves require it.
Beyond The Farm: SUIND is now extending its autonomy platform through WASP, an aerial intelligence and inspection drone for infrastructure monitoring, security, surveillance and defence. The startup believes that its capabilities proven around farms can be transferred to industrial and strategic applications.
With India’s drone technology market projected to reach $1.4 Bn by 2030, what is SUIND’s vision-first autonomous drones bet all about?
One company wasn’t enough. They went back and built again. Here’s a look at the founders who didn’t stop after their first big win…
Source: Inc42
