Flipkart Eyes Food Delivery

Flipkart may soon move beyond shopping and quick delivery by launching a new food delivery service. Flipkart is reportedly testing a platform that could compete directly with well‑known rivals such as Swiggy and Zomato.

According to a report by TechCrunch, Flipkart has started testing a new service. The service is reportedly called "Eat- by Minutes." The trials are currently happening in Bengaluru. The name seems to be connected to Flipkart’s existing quick-commerce platform, Flipkart Minutes.

The company may start the food-delivery service by the end of this month. It is not yet known if the food-delivery service will only be available in cities, at first.

A famous publication has reached out to Flipkart for a comment. The story will be updated as and when the company responds.

Flipkart testing service with 8,000 employees

The reported food-delivery platform is currently being tested through an employee-only programme. What started as a trial involving a few hundred employees has now reportedly expanded to around 8,000 Flipkart staff members.

The service is said to appear as a dedicated ‘Eat-in by Minutes’ tab within the Flipkart shopping app. It would sit alongside other offerings, including the Minutes quick-commerce service and travel-booking options.

According to the report, Flipkart’s food platform will feature restaurants available through the government-backed ‘Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)’. The network allows buyers and sellers to connect across different platforms. Flipkart is also reportedly signing up restaurants directly.

Food orders would be delivered through a dedicated fleet operated by Flipkart’s logistics arm, ‘Ekart’. These delivery riders are reportedly separate from the fleet used for quick-commerce orders. Some Bengaluru riders have also reportedly been seen wearing T-shirts featuring the “Eat-in by Minutes” branding.

Flipkart enters a competitive market

Flipkart’s latest announcement comes as Zomato and Swiggy still dominate India’s food delivery sector. According to Ken Research Zomato captured fifty‑eight percent of the market in 2024 while Swiggy captured thirty‑four percent.

Other companies have attempted to enter the sector. Ride-hailing platform Rapido launched its food-delivery service, ‘Ownly’, last year, although it remains available in limited regions.

Uber Eats exited India in 2020 by selling its operations to Zomato, while Amazon and Google also previously explored opportunities in the food-delivery space without gaining significant traction.

The market, however, continues to offer room for growth. Brokerage firm Bernstein estimates online food delivery accounts for just over 15 per cent of the broader food-services industry. It expects the segment to grow by around 18 per cent to 20 per cent annually.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kahekashan

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Kahekashan is a passionate technophile with a keen eye for cutting-edge gadgets, emerging technologies, and everything in the digital realm. Raised in a Defence family with strong values and a background in literature, she has consistently pursued excellence in every endeavour. Her last full-time assignment involved content writing with the Indian School of Business.

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