With magicpin's help, Rapido's Ownly to challenge Zomato-Swiggy's food delivery duopoly; here's how

Rapido’s food delivery platform Ownly has partnered with hyperlocal platform magicpin to take on the near-duopoly of Zomato and Swiggy, according to people aware of the development.

The collaboration will give Ownly access to magicpin’s network of over 80,000 restaurants across India, helping the bike taxi operator scale its food delivery operations beyond Bengaluru, where the service was piloted in August.

In return, magicpin will be able to tap into Rapido’s delivery fleet in select locations.

A Rapido spokesperson said the company primarily onboards restaurants directly through its merchant team, with a “very small share” coming via partners like magicpin.

“We also work with magicpin and others in select cities as a logistics provider, where our captain fleet supports last-mile deliveries,” the spokesperson said.

“Our focus remains on building reliable, affordable, full-stack discovery and delivery solutions for merchants, while ensuring a seamless experience for customers and captains,” the spokesperson added.

The partnership comes at a time when consumers are grappling with fewer discounts and higher delivery fees on Zomato and Swiggy, which together dominate India’s food delivery market.

Despite the promise of disruption, industry executives say food delivery remains a challenging, low-margin business, where balancing rider payouts, delivery costs, and customer discounts can make or break viability.

The new partnership will also have to deepen relationships with brands and restaurants that are already stretched across multiple platforms.

Restaurant chains listed on magicpin said the move was positive for the ecosystem.

Shakir Haq, CEO of NKP Empire Ventures, which operates the Empire chain, said the partnership “creates a level-playing field” and opens up more avenues for restaurants to reach new customers.

Avinash Bajaj, Managing Director of Truffles Hospitality, said increased competition is beneficial for both customers and restaurants. “magicpin is there, then we will automatically be there because they (Rapido’s Ownly) will just use magicpin as their partner,” he said.

Zomato, notably, holds around 15% stake in magicpin.

In September, Swiggy’s board approved the sale of its stake in Rapido’s parent, Roppen Transportation Services, for nearly ₹2,400 crore.

Swiggy had earlier said it was re-evaluating its investment due to Rapido’s plans to enter food delivery.

Rapido IPO

Rapido, valued at USD 2.3 billion following the recent secondary share sale, is also preparing for a potential market debut.

Co-founder Aravind Sanka told PTI that the company aims to be a much bigger player before pursuing an IPO.

“We have been growing 100% in the last two years. We want to at least continue that growth rate for a few more years and then think of the market,” Sanka said.

"We are making moves around that, both from a preparedness point of view, business point of view and everything that is expected. We are trying to do everything and we want to be there by the end of next year," he added.

He said Rapido is close to turning operationally profitable for the full current financial year and has “no cash burn like competitors”.

“We are profitable overall. We don’t lose money anymore. We invest in brand campaigns, which is one of the only investments we do from a growth point of view,” he said.