Flipkart may soon begin delivering food in India, entering a market dominated by Swiggy and Zomato. The e-commerce company is reportedly preparing to launch its food-delivery service as early as later this month.
According to a report by TechCrunch, Flipkart has started testing the service, internally called “Eat-in by Minutes”, in Bengaluru. The name appears to be linked to the company’s quick-commerce platform, Flipkart Minutes.
Although the report suggests the service could launch by the end of October, it remains unclear whether it will initially be available only in selected cities.
India Today Tech has contacted Flipkart for a response, and the report will be updated when the company provides a comment.
Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy had first confirmed in July that the company was developing a food-delivery service.
FLIPKART TESTING FOOD-DELIVERY SERVICE WITH 8,000 EMPLOYEES
The report states that Flipkart is currently conducting an internal trial restricted to its employees. The testing reportedly began with a few hundred staff members and has since expanded to include around 8,000 employees.
The service is said to have a dedicated “Eat-in by Minutes” tab within the Flipkart shopping app, alongside sections for the Minutes quick-commerce service and travel bookings.
Restaurants available through the platform reportedly include those listed on the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), which connects buyers and sellers across different platforms, as well as restaurants that have partnered directly with Flipkart.
For food deliveries, Flipkart has reportedly deployed a dedicated fleet through its logistics arm, Ekart. These delivery riders operate separately from those handling quick-commerce orders. According to the report, some riders in Bengaluru have been seen wearing T-shirts featuring the “Eat-in by Minutes” branding.
Flipkart’s planned entry into the food-delivery sector comes as Swiggy and Zomato continue to dominate the Indian market. Data from Ken Research indicates that Zomato held a 58% market share in 2024, while Swiggy accounted for nearly 34%.
Ride-hailing platform Rapido also entered the sector last year with its food-delivery service, Ownly, although the platform remains available in a limited number of regions.
Other companies have previously attempted to establish a presence in the market but achieved limited success. Uber sold its Uber Eats India operations to Zomato in 2020, three years after launching the service. Amazon and Google have also explored the food-delivery business but failed to gain significant traction.
Despite these challenges, India’s online food-delivery market is expected to continue expanding. Brokerage firm Bernstein estimates that online delivery accounts for just over 15% of the broader food-services industry and that the segment is growing at an annual rate of 18% to 20%.
