Swiggy elevates insider Swapnil Bajpai to lead Dineout & Scenes

Swiggy has appointed Swapnil Bajpai as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its Dineout and Scenes businesses, handing a company veteran the mandate to scale its dining-out and experience verticals at a time when competition is intensifying beyond core food delivery.

Bajpai, who announced the move internally, steps into the role after several years within Swiggy across business, sales, supply and monetisation functions. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President and Business Head for Swiggy Dineout, Assure and Lynk, where he led growth and operational initiatives across the restaurant-facing ecosystem.

Swiggy entered the dining-out category through its 2022 acquisition of Dineout, a move aimed at expanding beyond logistics-heavy food delivery into higher-margin consumer experiences such as table reservations, bill payments and in-restaurant offers.

In the immediate aftermath of the acquisition, Dineout continued to be led by its founders, including Ankit Mehrotra, ensuring continuity in restaurant partnerships and merchant relationships. Over time, however, the business has been more tightly integrated into Swiggy’s broader ecosystem, particularly across payments, advertising and merchant services.

The addition of Scenes, a layer focused on events, nightlife and curated experiences, signals Swiggy’s intent to move further up the consumer spending chain, from meals to occasions.

Bajpai’s appointment comes as Swiggy consolidates its “going-out” play, combining Dineout’s core offerings, restaurant discovery, table bookings and bill payments, with Scenes’ events-led proposition.

Internally, this vertical sits alongside food delivery and quick commerce, but differs in economics. Dining-out and experiences typically carry lower logistics costs and higher monetisation potential, driven by commissions, prepaid deals, advertising and event ticketing.

Bajpai’s background reflects that shift. During his time at Swiggy, he has handled ads and monetisation across food delivery and dineout, in addition to leading supply and sales, functions critical to extracting value from restaurant networks.

Before joining Swiggy, Bajpai worked at Reckitt as Regional Sales Manager and spent a significant part of his career at Procter & Gamble, where he managed trade programs, regional sales operations and go-to-market strategies.

Swiggy’s push mirrors a broader industry trend. Rival Zomato has also been investing in its dining-out business, bundling discounts, memberships and restaurant payments to drive frequency beyond delivery orders.

For Swiggy, the Dineout-Scenes combination offers a way to increase user touchpoints across the week, from ordering meals at home to booking tables and attending events on weekends.

With Bajpai as CEO, the business transitions fully from a founder-led acquisition to a Swiggy-run vertical with dedicated leadership and P&L ownership. His immediate focus is expected to be on scaling merchant adoption, improving monetisation, and integrating experiences more tightly into the core app.