30 Under 30 2025

Swiggy: Eyeing the gravy train

Swiggy's challenge is to cost-effectively retain customers and delivery partners and attract new ones. Can Swiggy pull it off?

Brian Carvalho
Published: Jan 16, 2025 10:55:11 AM IST
Updated: Jan 16, 2025 11:13:39 AM IST

Picture this: You wake up in the morning in a ropy roadhouse in the city boondocks with just the clothes on you and your phone (let’s not get into the how-did-you-get-there-in-the-first-place bit). What do you do?

For starters, you order toothpaste, a toothbrush and soap; they arrive in 10 minutes. You switch to another app that allows you to order in a king’s breakfast of eggs, toast, sausages and an espresso. It arrives in 15. You need a fresh set of clothes, a towel and a deo, so you navigate to the fashion quick commerce app; they are at your doorstep in a jiffy (well, almost).

It’s now time to think ahead—an evening meeting beckons in the city’s financial hub. You use the same app you broke bread with to make a restaurant reservation. Till then, you’re in the mood to read a book, but you remember that you left your copy of Nicholas Sparks’ Counting Miracles at a friend’s pad on the other side of town. No problem: You revisit the app and type in instructions for pick-up and delivery; the book is with you by noon. And, hey, while you are still at it, might as well snag two tickets for The Rolling Stones concert next month—yes, on the same app.

The Stones concert may be just a flight of fancy, but not much else in the previous paras is. And that’s courtesy of a clutch of hyperlocal convenience platforms that offers everything from food delivery to event bookings, via apps that allow you to order and pay.

On the cover of Forbes India this fortnight is Sriharsha Majety, managing director and group CEO of one such platform that can be considered a pioneer in food delivery and quick commerce. One of the first hyperlocal commerce models, Swiggy launched the former in 2014 and Instamart six years later. The endeavour clearly is to become synonymous with these categories.

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Forbes India’s Rajiv Singh tracked down the reclusive Majety to write this cover story. Don’t miss the interview. One of the standout quotes of Majety has to be: “We are indirectly powering dreams…”

Let’s break down those dreams, beyond food delivery and quick commerce. There’s also Dineout, to make restaurant reservations; SteppinOut, for event bookings; product pick-up and drop-off services with Genie; and Minis, a software as a service platform for entrepreneurs, creators and service providers.

Significantly, Swiggy has broken down food delivery into sub-segments: Bolt allows for 10-minute food delivery; Café enables branded and non-branded snacks and beverages in 15 minutes; Daily provides access to homestyle meals; and Snacc delivers snacks, beverages and quick meals in 15 minutes.

Majety and his co-founders are counting on India’s burgeoning digitally-native consumer base, a mushrooming gig economy and robust digital payments infrastructure to make the hyperlocal commerce model work. But there are risks. Will revenue growth be adequate to cover for sizeable expenses, not in the least being delivery-related costs? Don’t forget cash flows have been negative since Swiggy was founded.

The challenge is to retain existing customers and add new users as well as attract and retain delivery partners—all cost-effectively. Can Swiggy pull it off? For an answer, turn to ‘Quick Trick’.

Swiggy’s recent IPO was win-win for both early investors as well as fresh subscribers. Not all future public issues may enjoy similar gains in 2025. Global uncertainty in a Trump regime coupled with concerns of a domestic slowdown have resulted in stock markets riding a rollercoaster. Against this backdrop, what should your asset allocation strategy be? Our Investment Special, anchored by Salil Panchal, has the big picture.

Best,

Brian Carvalho

Editor, Forbes India

Email: Brian.Carvalho@nw18.com

X ID: @Brianc_Ed

(This story appears in the 24 January, 2025 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)

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