The body states that Zomato and Swiggy are now leveraging their dominant positions and access to restaurant data to venture into private-label food delivery either directly or via their subsidiary
The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has opposed the recent foray of food delivery players Zomato and Swiggy into quick commerce through private-label food delivery. The body stated that this move undermines the principles of fair competition and poses a significant threat to the viability of thousands of restaurants across India.
As per NRAI, Zomato and Swiggy, originally established as marketplace platforms, are now leveraging their dominant positions and access to restaurant data to venture into private-label food delivery either directly or via their subsidiary. It added that this strategy not only cannibalises the business of restaurants that rely on these platforms but also raises serious concerns under the Copyright Act and related laws.
Raising its concern, the restaurant body noted that their entry into delivering food through private labelling and selling on their platforms and also delivering private labelled food via their own quick commerce platforms such as Blinkit Bistro and Swiggy Café / SNACC fundamentally violates this neutrality, creating an uneven playing field. By monetising data derived from restaurant partners, they are exploiting a conflict of interest that could decimate the very ecosystem they claim to support.
“The NRAI views this as a clear case of misuse of private labels, infringing upon intellectual property rights under the Copyright Act. We are committed to pursuing all available legal remedies to safeguard the interests of the restaurant industry. This includes filing complaints with relevant regulatory authorities and initiating legal action to prevent Zomato and Swiggy from monopolising the market,” stated the body in a statement.
The body added that they were always given verbal assurance by the aggregators that they would never resort to private labelling. Stating this as a breach of trust, it added that its businesses will be severely impacted with these platforms introducing their private labels.
“What we are absolutely not okay with is Zomato and Swiggy doing private labelling and selling food by themselves. In Zomato via Blinkit’s separate Bistro app and Swiggy launching SNACC for quick food delivery. They have all our data which they do not share with us. For us, there is complete consumer masking. We have no reason to not believe them migrating our customer to the products they sell as private labels on their apps. Be it data from a tea brand, biryani or momo,” highlighted Sagar Daryani, President of the NRAI.
The NRAI has called on all stakeholders, including restaurants, customers, and regulators, to join hands in ensuring a fair and competitive food delivery ecosystem.
