Rapido Enters Food Delivery With ‘Ownly’, Set to Challenge Swiggy & Zomato

Ride-hailing giant Rapido has officially stepped into India’s booming food delivery market with the launch of its standalone mobile app, Ownly. The app is currently live in select Bengaluru neighborhoods such as Koramangala, HSR Layout, and BTM Layout — areas known for their dense mix of young professionals, students, and restaurants, making them a prime testbed for food-tech experiments.

With this launch, Rapido aims to take on incumbents Swiggy and Zomato, who have long dominated the space but are often criticized by restaurants for high commission rates and steep margins.

Rapido Launched Ownly for Food Delivery

What sets Ownly apart is its zero-commission model. Instead of charging restaurants hefty platform fees, the cost burden is being restructured. Restaurants will pay the delivery fee for orders within a four-kilometer radius, keeping their margins intact. For customers, pricing is simple and transparent:

• Orders below ₹100 → Delivery charge ₹20

• Orders between ₹100–₹400 → Delivery charge ₹25 (plus GST)

• Orders above ₹400 → Delivery charge ₹50

This model directly responds to concerns raised by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), which represents over 50,000 eateries. The NRAI has long criticized Swiggy and Zomato for charging commissions as high as 25–30%, squeezing restaurants’ already thin margins. By partnering with Rapido, the association hopes to provide the industry with a much-needed alternative.

The Bigger Strategy: Scale Meets Opportunity

For Rapido, this is not just an expansion but a natural progression. With over two million captains (drivers) on its platform as of May 2025, the company already has the infrastructure to support hyperlocal deliveries. Leveraging this massive network, Rapido plans to expand Ownly to 500 cities by the end of the year.

Speaking earlier this year, Rapido’s co-founder Aravind Sanka hinted at this strategy, saying: "Whatever we do, we try to give value back to the users. We don’t just enter a category to fill a void; we do it when we feel value is not actually being passed on to the ecosystem."

The food delivery move, therefore, appears to be a response to a structural gap: restaurants looking for a fairer deal and customers demanding more affordable options.

A Tough Market to Crack

While Rapido’s entry spices up the competition, the road ahead won’t be easy. Swiggy and Zomato enjoy massive brand recall, entrenched customer loyalty, and deep-pocketed investors. Both companies have also been diversifying beyond food — into quick commerce and grocery delivery — to strengthen their revenue streams.

However, Rapido’s advantage lies in its cost-efficient delivery fleet and partnership-driven model. If restaurants aggressively rally behind Ownly, the startup could create a credible alternative marketplace and eventually pressure incumbents to revisit their commission structures.

Currently limited to Bengaluru, Ownly will serve as Rapido’s pilot project to iron out operational challenges. Its success will depend on three factors:

1. Restaurant adoption – whether eateries see Ownly as a sustainable partner.

2. Customer experience – whether transparent pricing and delivery speed can match or surpass competitors.

3. Scale execution – how quickly Rapido can expand without burning excessive capital.

With India’s food delivery market projected to grow to $20 billion by 2030, Rapido’s timing could be strategic. If it plays its cards right, Ownly may not just compete with Swiggy and Zomato — it could reshape the power balance in India’s food delivery ecosystem.