Ride-hailing unicorn Rapido has continued its bold foray into food delivery with Ownly, a new platform that strategically partners with Magicpin to rapidly scale its reach nationwide. This collaboration leverages Magicpin’s network of 80,000+ restaurants and Rapido’s vast fleet, positioning Ownly as a disruptor in a market long dominated by Swiggy and Zomato.
Ownly vs. Swiggy and Zomato: What Makes It Different?
- Ultra-Low Restaurant Commission: Unlike Swiggy and Zomato , which typically charge restaurants 25–35% commission per order, Ownly takes just a flat ₹25 commission plus GST—often less than 10%. There are no platform fees, no delivery fees for customers, and no packaging charges during its initial phase.
- Price Transparency: Restaurants set their actual offline prices; there’s no forced markup or hidden charges, and partners retain full control over menu pricing and get access to customer data, unlike on incumbent platforms.
- Affordability Focus: Most menu items are priced below ₹150, with essentials under ₹100. This is a sharp contrast to the markups often seen on bigger apps, making Ownly especially appealing to price-sensitive customers.
- No Surge Fees or Platform Charges: Ownly currently promises no “pay-to-play” visibility—rankings are based on reviews, not ad budgets, supporting small businesses.
- Simplicity: A flat, three-tier delivery fee structure means both partners and customers know exactly what to expect.
Operational Edge: Rapido deploys its bike taxi fleet for food orders, optimizing delivery times in dense urban pockets while reducing the operating costs that larger delivery platforms face as they scale. After a pilot in select Bengaluru neighborhoods, Ownly is expanding to new cities and expects to roll out to 500 locations over the coming months.
Restaurant Experience: Early feedback from partner restaurants highlights improved margins and lower dependency on discounts for customer acquisition, a pain point in the Zomato/Swiggy playbook.
Magicpin’s Quick Commerce and Food Growth
- MagicNOW: Magicpin’s signature 15-minute food delivery vertical (launched in late 2024) now contributes 13% of its total food delivery volumes, with ambitions to touch 20% by year-end. This service has exploded from 3,000 to 21,000+ merchant and restaurant partners across 20 cities, with retention and engagement rates outpacing the platform’s average.
- Velocity Logisitcs Platform: Magicpin aggregates multiple logistics partners (like Shadowfax, Dunzo, Rapido, Porter, OLA, and Zypp) under its Velocity network, providing top chains and local eateries—including McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Wow! Momo, KFC, and Burger King—with rapid and reliable delivery options.
- Strategy: By combining a hyperlocal app, exclusive offers, and last-mile fleet partnerships, Magicpin aims to be both a top choice for restaurant discovery and a reliable logistics partner, steadily gaining share from the bigger players.
What’s Next?
- Swiggy’s Market Exit: Swiggy exited Rapido’s cap table after selling its entire stake to Prosus and Westbridge (for about ₹2,400 crore), as Rapido crossed into food delivery territory. Rapido is reportedly in talks for a new $550 million funding round to fuel expansion.
- Third Major Player: Ownly’s partnership with Magicpin and focus on affordability and merchant empowerment has set the stage for what could become India’s first real third alternative to Swiggy and Zomato in recent years.
- Restaurant Empowerment: Both Ownly and Magicpin emphasize a partnership-driven model that sharply contrasts the high-commission, pay-for-visibility model of incumbents—an approach that’s winning support from restaurateurs and price-conscious consumers alike.
Ownly’s commission-light, price-transparent model—now supercharged by Magicpin’s quick-commerce and merchant network—marks a significant shakeup in India’s food delivery sector. As the battle for customer loyalty and restaurant goodwill heats up, Rapido and Magicpin’s alliance bears close watching as they scale nationwide and take aim at the established duopoly.
Read this: Rapido Valuation Doubles to $2.3B After Swiggy Sells Entire 12% Stake for $270M
