Ola Consumer, the hyperlocal delivery arm led by Bhavish Aggarwal, has begun piloting a rapid food delivery service in select areas of Bengaluru. This service is being offered through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government-backed initiative aimed at supporting digital commerce across India.
Through the food delivery section of the Ola Cabs app, the company promises to deliver meals from various restaurants within just 10 minutes. While Ola currently provides food delivery services via ONDC in a limited number of cities, it also offers last-mile logistics for groceries and pharmaceuticals through the platform.
This move places Ola among several companies entering the rapidly growing instant food delivery market. Magicpin, an offline discovery and rewards platform, recently launched its own quick delivery service, MagicNOW, offering 15-minute food delivery across major Indian cities. Other key players like Zepto, Swiggy, and Blinkit dominate this space, while new entrants like Swish and Zing are also gaining traction.
Ola first ventured into food delivery in 2017 with its acquisition of Foodpanda for Rs 28 crore, aiming to compete with Swiggy and Zomato. However, after struggling to gain traction, Ola scaled down Foodpanda’s operations by mid-2019 and eventually shut down the segment in early 2020. Despite this history, the company’s current pivot to 10-minute food delivery reflects the growing trend in quick commerce, though it faces challenges given the ongoing struggles of its core mobility business.
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