Amazon Launches Food Delivery Service In India

Amazon Food, a food delivery business initiative by Amazon India is launched in selected pin codes of Bengaluru. With this move, the company will be competing with already well-established firms which include Swiggy and Zomato. 

According to a media report, Amazon has officially launched the business in selected pin codes in Bengaluru which include Bellandur, Haralur, Marathalli and Whitefield.  

“We are launching Amazon Food in select Bangalore pin codes allowing customers to order from handpicked local restaurants and cloud kitchens that pass our high hygiene certification bar. We are adhering to the highest standards of safety to ensure our customers remain safe while having a delightful experience,” said an Amazon spokesperson in an email statement. 

This move seems meaningful since both Swiggy and Zomato hit severely by the virus and lockdown have eliminated many roles in recent months. Swiggy has cut 1,100 jobs while Zomato has cut 13 per cent of its workforce recently, and Swiggy has additionally scaled down its cloud kitchen operations. This might continue in some time as well due to COVID-19. This move has come at a time when online food ordering has been down by over 80% and both Swiggy and Zomato have been looking for other ways to make money. 

Swiggy had launched alcohol delivery and DIY meal kits. 

According to some sources, the company is also piloting online food ordering in a few locations in Hyderabad and Mumbai. Sources believe that the start would be limited to Bengaluru for some time. 

“This network will expand to a few cities, with higher density in a few weeks,” said a person directly aware of the matter. ET reported last year that Amazon was giving attractive offers to onboard restaurants for the service.  

With the addition of Amazon Food, the food delivery business is likely to get competitive and to eat up the market share of Zomato and Swiggy. With this move, it seems a duopoly in the market might be changed in the course of time.