MUMBAI: Temasek and KKR-backed Rebel Foods is foraying into the quick food delivery space, stepping up competition in a market where players like Zomato, Swiggy and Zepto are spending heavily to get ahead of the game. The Mumbai-based company is betting on the fact that consumers who are often driven by convenience will increasingly switch to 10-15 minute food delivery if they are catered well. For Rebel Foods, which already runs multiple cloud kitchen brands such as Behrouz Biryani, Faasos Wraps and has infrastructure in place, the launch of the 15-minute food delivery service branded as QuickiES comes without incurring significant costs.
“When consumers get hunger pangs, they crave for food then and there itself. Why should 15-minute food delivery not happen? The underlying demand is there, the consumer need is there, it is just about plugging that need gap,” Sagar Kochhar, co-founder and CEO, EatSure at Rebel Foods told TOI, claiming that the move did not come amid competition or investor pressure.
“We certainly keep an eye on competition but it was completely backed by consumer insights,” Kochhar said. He added that the demand for light snacking meals will be the initial driver of quick food ordering among consumers, but they will eventually shift to it for all meal occasions if the quality of food is good.
Rebel Foods has all its brands listed on Swiggy and Zomato’s food delivery apps besides its own in-house app EatSure. But for the 15-min service, all customer orders will be fulfilled only through EatSure. The firm already has access to customer data through its app EatSure which it can leverage to predict consumer demand and craft its menu right, benefits that traditional restaurant brands often do not have.
Besides, the quick food deliveries will be serviced through its existing cloud kitchens which make food in batches every couple of hours, enabling fresh food deliveries to consumers.
This is where, Kochhar said, the company will get an edge amid concerns over the quality of food delivered in 10-15 minutes. “All the new entrants have to make the food. It’s not just about the tech stack. Quick food delivery is going to be the new reality of food delivery and the winners will be the players which can offer great brands to consumers,” Kochhar said.
Zepto (Café), for instance, sources ingredients and ready to eat food items from local vendors and uses a network of kitchens stationed within its dark stores to cook and heat up the product before deliveries. Swiggy and Zomato which have forayed into quick food delivery through the aggregator model are also selling private labelled food through separate apps Snacc and Bistro (via Blinkit) respectively.
Rebel Foods’ QuickiES is rolling out a new selection of café style snacks including samosa, idli and noodles for the service which will also feature food from all its cloud kitchen as well as partner brands like Wendy’s Burgers.
The service which will go live in Mumbai today. It will be expanded to more than 20 cities over the year. Amid a competitive market, the company’s strategy will be to not charge customers if it fails to deliver food in 15 minutes.
