Rapido and magicpin join forces to take on Zomato-Swiggy duoploy

Rapido and magicpin have partnered to take on the dominance of Zomato and Swiggy. magicpin will now give access to its nationwide restaurant network to Ownly, Rapido's food delivery platform, people aware of the development told PTI.

The partnership will give Rapido, which launched Ownly in August, access to magicpin’s extensive base of more than 80,000 restaurants across the country, helping the platform scale beyond Bengaluru. In turn, magicpin will tap into Rapido’s delivery fleet in select locations.

“Rapido primarily on-boards restaurants directly through our merchant team, with only a very small share coming via partners like magicpin. We also work with magicpin and others in select cities as a logistics provider, where our captain fleet supports last-mile deliveries...Our focus remains on building reliable, affordable, full-stack discovery and delivery solutions for merchants, while ensuring a seamless experience for customers and captains,” a Rapido spokesperson told PTI in response to emailed queries.

magicpin did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Even with the promise of disruption, the alliance faces stiff challenges. Food delivery remains a low-margin, high-complexity business, where balancing rider payouts, delivery costs and customer incentives is critical. The partners must also strengthen relationships with restaurants that already juggle multiple platforms.

Another challenge is winning consumer trust.

Zomato and Swiggy have built deep customer loyalty over years of consistent reliability and speed. Rapido-magicpin will have to match these standards to compete effectively.

Restaurant chain owners listed on magicpin’s platform shared mixed but hopeful views on the partnership.

Shakir Haq, CEO of NKP Empire Ventures, which operates Empire Hotels and Restaurants, said India’s food delivery ecosystem is evolving to create a level playing field for restaurants.

“magicpin being there for a long time, being successful, and Rapido also coming along, it should be a great advantage for restaurants,” he said, noting that the partnership opens new avenues to reach customers.

Avinash Bajaj, Managing Director at Truffles Hospitality, said the development is positive for the market, while underlining the need for strong service quality. “magicpin is there then we will automatically be there because they (Rapido’s Ownly) will just use magicpin as their partner,” he said, adding that the move offers more choice and potentially better economics for both customers and restaurant owners.

Zomato holds around 15% stake in magicpin.

Separately, in September, Swiggy’s board approved the sale of its stake in Roppen Transportation Services, which operates Rapido, for nearly Rs 2,400 crore.

On July 31, Swiggy had said it was “actively re-evaluating” its investment in Rapido due to the latter’s intention to enter the food delivery space, citing a potential conflict of interest.

(With inputs from PTI)