Inside Zomato’s Monetisation Stack: Where The Margins Come From In Food Delivery

by · Inc42

SUMMARY

  • Despite accounting for a smaller slice of Eternal's revenue pie today, food delivery remains the business most consumers associate with the company, contributed ₹606 Cr to Eternal’s adjusted EBITDA, 6X more than Blinkit's ₹102 Cr
  • Consumers pay for convenience, restaurants pay for access to demand. That’s the basic foundation of the Zomato marketplace. Everything else is a bonus, but the bonuses can take on a life of their own if this core marketplace is running smoothly
  • It is the per-order platform fee that has proven to be a game changer. Introduced in August 2023 at ₹2 per order, Zomato's platform fee has steadily increased over time and now the company charges ₹14.9 per order in most major cities
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Before 10-minute deliveries, dark stores and quick commerce wars, there were red-shirted Zomato riders racing across cities with pizzas, biryanis and Chinese food parcels in their delivery bags.

Over the years, that image became so omnipresent that food delivery and Zomato started feeling interchangeable. Much like “Google it” became a substitute for searching the internet, “Zomato kar lo” became a synonym for ordering food.

The company itself saw a high degree of success, and food delivery took it to the bourses single-handedly in 2021. However, the spotlight gradually shifted when Zomato acquired Blinkit (formerly Grofers) a year later, in an all-stock deal worth ₹4,447 Cr completed in August 2022.

As the quick commerce arm stood first in the race of 10-minute delivery, the name Zomato still stood stronger as the brand identity. In 2025, founder Deepinder Goyal restructured the parent company to form Eternal, with Zomato becoming the flagship, and Blinkit a close second. 

But under the Eternal umbrella, Zomato’s role became even more clear. It was to be the mature business that generates profits to support long-term investments in Blinkit, District and other areas.