Flipkart to challenge Zomato and Swiggy with ‘Eat-in by Minutes’: Launch date, features explained
Flipkart is preparing to enter India’s food-delivery market with a new service called Eat-in by Minutes, which will compete with Zomato and Swiggy. The Walmart-backed e-commerce giant is rolling out the service in Bengaluru and is expected to go public by the end of October 2026. The move would provide an additional platform for customers to place food orders and could offer a new avenue for food delivery services to operate for restaurants.
Flipkart has expanded its internal trials from a few hundred employees to around 8,000 staff. The service will be available as a separate service tab on the Flipkart app, along with the company's travel and quick-commerce 'Minutes' verticals. Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy had previously announced plans for food delivery in July 2026.
The trial is currently being conducted at Flipkart's headquarters in Bengaluru for employees only. The site features restaurants that are part of the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), as well as those that have directly signed up with Flipkart, according to TechCrunch.
The company is also working on another delivery system via its logistics arm, Ekart. These will be riders who will order food on their own, rather than the Food Team for Flipkart Minutes. It has been reported that T-shirts imprinted with the Eat-in by Minutes logo have been spotted by delivery boys in Bengaluru.
According to Sagar Daryani, president of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), Flipkart has announced that it will go live in restaurants by the end of October and expand to five to six cities by the end of 2026.
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Flipkart's move may give Zomato and Swiggy a run for their money, due to its lower commission model. While the two biggest platforms charge restaurants 20% to 25% commission, Flipkart has put forth a base commission of about 10%, Daryani told TechCrunch..
He said that on some of the established platforms, the total cost for advertising, discounting and promoting an order can be 40%–50% of the order's worth. Daryani expects Flipkart to keep these costs closer to 15%–16%, potentially improving restaurant earnings.
However, lower commission rates don't necessarily bring in customers. Broking firm Bernstein says new players might also be able to save ₹20– ₹30 per order through efficiencies, but that may not be enough to convince customers to move to new platforms.
Zomato, operated by Eternal, and Swiggy dominate India’s online food-delivery market. As per Ken Research estimates, the share of Zomato was 58% in 2024, whereas that of Swiggy was nearly 34%.
Rapido's Ownly service, which works on a zero-commission basis with restaurants, and Swiggy's budget service, Toing, will pose a challenge for Flipkart. Unlike those earlier entrants, Flipkart plans to leverage its existing e-commerce platform, customer base and quick-commerce infrastructure.
Pragya is a Technology reporter with over four years of experience in digital media and content writing. She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and has covered a wide range of stories spanning space, smartphones, gadgets, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and the ways technology is transforming everyday life. She focuses on breaking down complex technology and science developments into clear, engaging, and reader-friendly stories, with a keen interest in emerging trends and their real-world impact. Before joining her current newsroom, Pragya worked with News9Live, where she covered the technology beat extensively, reporting on smartphones, consumer technology, AI, space and science, while also contributing to video and visual content. Her experience includes breaking news, explainers, SEO-driven stories, product coverage, interviews, unboxing videos and live event reporting. She has also covered major technology and AI events, giving her experience in both newsroom and on-ground reporting. Beyond journalism, Pragya is an avid gamer and a passionate reader of fiction. She enjoys exploring immersive worlds through games and books, with a particular interest in stories that offer new perspectives, ideas, and experiences.
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