Global ride-hailing platform Uber backed food delivery business UberEats has expanded its coverage to Mumbai. The company also appointed Viral Jhaveri as General Manager to scale the business in the city.
Commenting on the appointment Bhavik Rathod, Head of UberEATS India said, “We are thrilled to announce Viral Jhaveri as the General Manager for UberEATS Mumbai. He played a key role in transforming the rides business in Gujarat and is confident that he will further accelerate the UberEATS business in Mumbai.”
UberEATS follows the food delivery business model, charging restaurants a service fee to use its platform, and uses third-party delivery.
Viral joined Uber in November 2015 as GM for the rides business in Gujarat, where he was responsible for launching and strengthening the operations in Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara. With over eight years of experience, he’s worked across sectors like e-commerce, retail, aerospace and food-tech.
Commenting on his new role, Viral Jhaveri, General Manager UberEATS Mumbai, said, “Mumbai is an extremely attractive market for the food industry in India, offering consumers a variety of cuisines, both global and local. I am excited to use my learnings from the rides business to make UberEATS synonymous to food delivery in the city. The phenomenal response we received in just a month reflects the seamless experience consumers and restaurateurs enjoy on the app.”
UberEATS was started in 2014 as a small delivery pilot in Los Angeles and launched as a separate application in Toronto in December 2015. In the past 18 months, it has grown incredibly fast, and is now a stand-alone app available in 26 countries and in 78 cities around the globe, including India.
Zomato and Swiggy are leading players in the food delivery space. Off late, many food applications and websites like Faasos, Box8, FreshMenu are looking to grow in Mumbai and other metro cities. Swiggy claims to have crossed 1 lakh orders per day whereas Zomato’s gets 80,000 orders per day.
