Amazon begins food delivery business in India

Finally, e-commerce major Amazon has started its food delivery business in India. The firm has been planning to enter the segment for a long time and piloted in some cities already.

Amazon had piloted delivering food in Bengaluru and Mumbai. Last month, Entrackr had reached out to Amazon over its food delivery business launch in Bengaluru, but it did not share any details on the same.

Amazon has officially launched the business in selected pin codes in Bengaluru which include Bellandur, Haralur, Marathalli and Whitefield, said an ET report.

The company also has confirmed the development to Entrackr.

The food delivery service is available on Amazon’s regular app under its Prime offering. The preliminary launch of the food delivery service has come at a time when online food ordering has been down by over 80%.

“We are launching Amazon Food in select Bangalore pin codes allowing customers to order from handpicked local restaurants and cloud kitchens that pass our high hygiene certification bar. We are adhering to the highest standards of safety to ensure our customers remain safe while having a delightful experience," said an Amazon spokesperson in an email statement.

The launch of the food delivery service has come at a time when online food ordering has been down by over 80%, and companies, including Swiggy and Zomato, are exploring other avenues to make money.

Swiggy had launched alcohol delivery and DIY meal kits.

Hit severely by the spread of the virus and lockdown, Zomato and Swiggy had collectively laid off over 1,800 employees. Zomato announced to fire 13% of its workforce while Swiggy had shut down half of its cloud kitchen and laid off 1,100 employees.

According to Entrackr sources, the company is also piloting online food ordering in a few locations in Hyderabad and Mumbai. The timing of the launch of the food delivery service is not favourable. Still, sources believe that the start would be limited to Bengaluru for some time.

The entry of Amazon would make the food delivery space competitive and likely to eat up the market share of Zomato and Swiggy. Going forward, it would be exciting to watch how Amazon expands its new business and affect the existing duopoly.