Foodtech firm Swiggy has received approval from the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) to incorporate a wholly-owned subsidiary, Swiggy Sports Pvt. Ltd, to enter the sports and recreational activities segment, it said in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.
The move signifies Swiggy’s effort to go beyond food and grocery delivery, attempting to solidify its out-of-home consumption business, which generated a gross revenue of ₹45.8 crore in the June quarter of 2024-25.
“The main objectives of the newly incorporated entity will include engaging in sports team ownership, management, talent development, event organization, and facility operation, offering career services, acquiring broadcasting and sponsorship rights, and promoting sports events through various business models, etc.,” Swiggy said in the filing.
“It’s an interesting play. Zomato and Swiggy are venturing beyond their core offerings and seeing great value in event ticketing and dining verticals. While an entire sports subsidiary was unexpected, Swiggy’s recent acquisition of Team Mumbai in the World Pickleball League (in November 2024) says a lot about their seriousness in the space,” said an e-commerce executive on the condition of anonymity.
Co-founded by former Indian Tennis Players Gaurav Natekar and Arati Ponnappa Natekar, the World Pickleball League (WPBL) is India’s first and only official global franchise-based pickleball league. Its inaugural season is set to take place from 24 January to 2 February.
The move is aimed at amplifying brand recall especially as pickleball grows in popularity among diverse age groups. And it’s hardly new for Indian companies to engage with sports franchises.
In October 2024, multinational conglomerate Vedanta Ltd acquired Bhubaneswar-based hockey team Kalinga Lancers ahead of the India Hockey League. The same month, GMR Group—the owner of Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Capitals—bought a majority stake in Hampshire County Cricket Club.
“Pickleball is picking up in metro cities across young and older people. It ties in with Swiggy’s proposition of catering to diverse age groups with its various offerings like food delivery, grocery delivery, and dining out. Swiggy is starting out early in terms of creating a presence among formats and sports is essential,” said the executive quoted above.
Zomato, which acquired Paytm’s events ticketing business for ₹2,048.4 crore in August, too, has been doubling down on its going-out business. It claims the dining-out business alone is now operating at a run-rate of over ₹4,184 crore annualized gross order value (GOV)—a metric that indicates the total amount charged by the platform to the user, including the value of goods, delivery and platform charges and taxes.
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