Flipkart tests food delivery service in Bengaluru, set to take on Zomato and Swiggy

E-commerce major Flipkart is preparing to enter the online food delivery market. Until now, people have used Flipkart to order clothes, mobile phones and household goods. Once the new service starts, they will also be able to order hot meals directly from the Flipkart app. The move is expected to make life considerably harder for Zomato and Swiggy, which currently dominate India's food delivery market.

According to available information, Flipkart may launch the new service under the name "Eat-in by Minutes". It is being tested in Bengaluru at present, and preparations are under way within the company. The service is very likely to open to general customers soon.

The company wants to test any new service thoroughly before it reaches customers. Testing began with a small number of employees and is now being done on a larger scale. More than 8,000 Flipkart employees are currently ordering through the service. The exercise is being used to work on the app's user experience and ordering process and to iron out technical problems, so that customers get a good experience at launch.

Customers will not need to download a new app. A separate tab will be added to Flipkart's main app, where users will be able to order food alongside shopping and quick commerce.

To offer customers as many food choices as possible, Flipkart has begun partnerships directly with restaurants. These will include restaurants on the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). To get hot food to customers on time, the company is also building a separate, robust delivery network with the help of its logistics unit, Ekart.

Zomato and Swiggy currently compete in the Indian market. Customers are often troubled by platform fees and delivery charges. With a strong brand such as Flipkart entering, customers are likely to get more options and, with competition rising, better offers. It is being said that the company may launch the service in a few select large cities this year.