How WAAYU Plans To Eat Into Swiggy & Zomato’s Market Share With Its Zero-Commission Strategy

by · Inc42

SUMMARY

  • Founded in 2022 by childhood friends Mandar Lande and Anirudha Kotgire, the startup has ambitious plans to capture a 60% market share by freeing restaurants from the trap of high commissions charged by their host platforms
  • WAAYU charges a one-time setup fee of INR 4,650 and a monthly subscription fee of INR 1,200 from individual restaurants, freeing them from giving commissions on every order
  • The app has already onboarded more than 3,000 restaurants across Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Navi Mumbai. Now, it has plans to expand to Bengaluru soon
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A lot of action is happening in India’s food delivery market, long dominated by the duopoly of Zomato and Swiggy. Fuelled by an unusual demand surge and growing competition (to serve this opportunity) from newer entrants like ONDC, Thrive, Tata Neu, Flipkart and Ola, this paradigm is undergoing a significant makeover.

In fact, driven by this balance of demand and supply, the food delivery market is projected to more than triple in size, reaching INR 2.12 Lakh Cr by 2030, according to a report from Swiggy and Bain & Company. On a broader level, however, the Indian food services market, currently valued at INR 5.5 Lakh Cr, is expected to breach the INR 9-10 Lakh Cr mark by the end of this decade. 

Rewriting the rules of the game is the rise of the 10-minute food delivery model, and no player, in the early or growth stage, wants to be late to the party. Take, for example, Swish, a startup that delivers a range of fast food offerings in just 10 to 15 minutes via its app. Founded in August this year, the startup has already raised $2 Mn (over 16 Cr) from venture capital firm Accel. Raking in funds within just three months of its inception shows the growing interest of investors in this market.   

Moving on, deep-pocketed players, too, do not want to be late to the 10-minute food delivery party. For example, quick commerce major Zepto, quite recently, announced expansion plans for its 10-minute food delivery service, Zepto Cafe, beyond Mumbai. Meanwhile, Swiggy, too, launched its 10-minute food delivery service, Bolt, in six cities.