Uber's food delivery service UberEATS now available in Gurugram

Food delivery service - UberEATS, runs by cab hailing app Uber has launched its service in Delhi-NCR region. Currently, the service is operational in Gurugram with little over 3000 restaurants, and soon to be expanded into other parts of the national capital region.

During the launch in Delhi, Bhavik Rathod, Head of UberEATS India, said that the growth in Mumbai has been very positive. The company had launched UberEATS in Mumbai almost eight weeks ago, and since then it covered major parts of the financial capital.

Consumers can order food through Uber app along with standalone app for Android and iOS called UberEATS

UberEATS pretty much works on the lines of food delivery major - Swiggy. It uses third party delivery partners to fulfil orders. Uber charges a commission from the restaurants that are handling the order, and pays a fixed pickup fee, and a delivery fee based on the time and distance required for the order.

Food ordering from UberEATS works like any other app in the segment. UberEATS has appointed Faiz Abdulla as the General Manager for Delhi to accelerate and scale its service in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Speaking on the launch, Bhavik Rathod, Head of UberEATS India said, “UberEATS has received an overwhelming response from Mumbaikars and we recently expanded operations to serve the entire city. As a step further in our global expansion strategy, we aim to open up the diverse range of culinary experiences and cuisines to Delhiites at the push of a button. Our goal is to offer people what they want to eat, when they want to eat, in the quickest time possible. The ease and reliability of Uber’s technology is making this a reality.”

Launched in 2014, UberEats is now a stand-alone app available in 27 countries and in 97 cities around the globe, including India.

Online food delivery market comprising aggregators and internet kitchens grew at 150 per cent last year with an estimated GMV of $300 million, despite low investor sentiment and players scaling down operations or shutting shop, as per research firm RedSeer.

Food delivery sector in India has turned into competitive turf with Swiggy leading the race followed by Zomato and Foodpanda. Recently, Google also forayed into space with Areo. Currently, operational in Bengaluru and Mumbai, Areo delivers food and home services.

To some extent, UberEATS is late in the food delivery party, however with its deep pocket and superior execution capabilities Uber can make inroads into share of Swiggy, Zomato and Foodpanda. Nevertheless, in a long run, it would be interesting to see how Google and Uber compete with homegrown food delivery platforms.