The Rs 200 meal is the new battleground for Swiggy, Zomato and other food delivery companies

As India's food delivery market matures, platforms are racing to make online ordering an everyday habit rather than an occasional indulgence. From value meals and group discounts to new pricing models, companies are rolling out fresh strategies to attract office-goers and price-conscious consumers, reported TOI.

Companies are adopting different strategies to attract more price-conscious customers. Swiggy and Zomato are expanding their range of value meals and offering targeted discounts, while Rapido-backed Ownly is experimenting with a new pricing model. Meanwhile, cloud kitchen operator Rebel Foods is focusing on catering to different dining occasions instead of relying solely on lower prices to drive demand.

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“The intention is not the first order,” Satish Meena, founder of consumer and retail research firm Datum Intelligence told TOI. “They want people to rely on these companies for office lunch regularly.”

The race for everyday orders

The push comes as food delivery platforms seek to expand beyond their core base of frequent users and attract a broader customer segment, including office-goers and budget-conscious consumers.

For that to happen, the final bill needs to stay in the Rs 200–250 range, industry executives say. Younger office-goers may be willing to order lunch, coffee or snacks, but only if delivery charges and mark-ups do not make the meal significantly more expensive than eating nearby. Fast-food chains, too, are introducing lower-priced meal options to appeal to the same value-conscious audience.

Swiggy has rolled out multiple initiatives to improve affordability. Its Value Store operates within the main app, while Toing is a standalone app targeted at budget-conscious users. Swiggy founder and CEO Sriharsha Majety recently said affordability, rather than higher spending per order, would drive the next phase of food delivery growth, with recent gains fuelled by an increase in users and order volumes.

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Not all of Swiggy's experiments have succeeded. The company shut down Snacc after concluding the category lacked sufficient scale, while Toing continues to remain an experimental offering.

Eternal-owned Zomato, meanwhile, has no immediate plans to launch a separate value-focused app, saying it is unclear what problem such a model would solve for customers or restaurant partners. Its Bistro format also remains in the early stages.

The company said platform fees are charged uniformly across users, while discounts are selectively offered to price-sensitive customers and in locations where they can generate incremental demand.

Rapido-backed Ownly is attempting a more fundamental reset. Unlike traditional food delivery platforms, it does not charge restaurants commissions, allowing them to set their own menu prices. Customers will eventually pay separately for delivery.

Rebel Foods, however, believes affordability alone cannot drive growth.

“Food ordering is about occasions,” said cofounder Kallol Banerjee. A customer may choose premium coffee one day and a neighbourhood café the next depending on the mood, company or purpose. “The growth will come from capturing more and more occasions,” he said, adding that affordability matters but is not the only driver.

Curefoods has adopted a similar multi-brand strategy through labels such as EatFit, Sharief Bhai Biryani and CakeZone, catering to different budgets and meal occasions.

The new race emerges as India's online food delivery market is entering its next growth phase, driven less by new user acquisition and more by rising order frequency, expanding Tier-2+ penetration and steady average order value (AOV) expansion, according to Investec Equities. The sector is expected to scale from $9.1 billion in 2024 to nearly $27 billion by 2030, growing at a 19 per cent CAGR, as digital adoption and urbanisation reshape consumption patterns.