Tata Group is reportedly planning to enter the online meal-ordering business. According to media reports, the company’s’super app’, Tata Neu, intends to launch its food delivery service through the government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
The Tata Neu app already includes a food category page. When users click it, the app exclusively displays menus from restaurants owned by the Tata Group’s hotel firm, which operates under the Taj name. According to the report, the ONDC connection can help the app get access to several restaurants in cities that are already part of the network.
Currently, Swiggy and Zomato now dominate the meal delivery business with more than 95 per cent. In FY23, both enterprises processed a total of over USD 6 billion in gross orders.
The report indicates that Tata Neu’s food delivery service is poised to undergo closed-user group trials in the coming days, with a potential launch for the broader public expected a month or more later. The move is seen as a strategic effort by Tata to introduce a ‘high-frequency use case’ and encourage regular app usage.
An insider revealed that Tata aims to leverage the food ordering feature to cross-sell its various products, spanning categories such as apparel, jewelry, groceries, electronics, flights, and more. The integration of the app with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is also being considered, depending on user reception.
Gaurav Porwal, a senior vice president at Tata Digital, is leading the ONDC project at Tata Neu, which includes acquired consumer internet businesses like BigBasket and 1mg. Tata Neu, functioning as a buyer-side app in ONDC, is anticipated to streamline food ordering by avoiding the need for a dedicated fleet of delivery riders or negotiations with restaurants.
The government-backed ONDC network allows for collaboration among different players in the e-commerce ecosystem, handling aspects like customer orders, logistics, and merchant onboarding. Tata Neu is reportedly collaborating with Magicpin, a technology service provider and the largest seller-side platform on ONDC for restaurant onboarding.
Magicpin’s expertise in ONDC integration has previously benefited companies like Paytm and Ola. The startup is involved in three roles within ONDC – technology services provider, seller-side app, and buyer-side app.
