Amazon India expands food delivery service

E-commerce major Amazon India on Monday said that it has scaled its food delivery service, Amazon Food, to 62 pin codes across Bengaluru, with over 2,500 restaurants and cloud kitchens now serving customers on its platform.

Amazon had forayed into the food delivery segment last May, rivalling restaurant aggregators Zomato and Swiggy, and began pilots in Bengaluru.

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Now, Amazon Food will cater to key localities in the city, including Whitefield, HSR, Sarjapur, Koramangala, Indiranagar, MG Road, Jayanagar, JP Nagar, Frazer Town, Malleshwaram, and Rajaji Nagar.

“Customers trust Amazon for all their unique shopping needs across categories. With the expansion of Amazon Food in Bengaluru, we continue in our endeavour to offer unmatched convenience and value while being a part of their everyday lives. Amazon Food brings some of the city’s top restaurants, including national outlets and local favourites, and follows strict delivery and safety protocols,” said Sameer Khetarpal, director, category management, Amazon India.

Along with this, the company said it has added close to 48 cuisines and dishes to its assortments, including Indian, Chinese, Italian, biryani, and burgers.

Despite the food delivery sector being heavily impacted by the onslaught of covid last year, food aggregators Swiggy and Zomato saw record orders, especially during New Year, as people chose to celebrate from the comfort of their homes.

Zomato said it hit a record gross merchandise value (GMV) on 31 December. The platform hit a peak of 4,254 orders a minute in the evening, co-founder and chief executive officer Deepinder Goyal tweeted. Zomato’s GMV rose 60% from the previous year.

Rival Swiggy hit a peak of 5,500 orders per minute on the evening of 31 December 2020 and its base of new users doubled.

Additionally, competition in the food delivery space is ramping up as players are infused with fresh capital. Recently, Zomato raised an additional $250 million from existing and new investors ahead of its proposed initial public offering (IPO) in June, valuing the company at $5.4 billion.

This was in addition to the $660 million primary fundraise undertaken by the firm last year.

Swiggy, too, has been in the market to raise a fresh round, in a bid to up its fight with market rival Zomato.