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Amazon is joining India’s online food delivery market just as top local players Swiggy and Zomato reduce their workforce to steer through the coronavirus pandemic and months after Uber Eats’ exit from the nation.
The e-commerce giant, which has invested more than $6.5 billion in India, today launched its food delivery service, called Amazon Food, in select parts of Bangalore. The company originally planned to launch the service in India last year, which it then moved to March but pushed it further amid the nationwide stay-at-home order the Indian government issued in late March.
“Customers have been telling us for some time that they would like to order prepared meals on Amazon in addition to shopping for all other essentials. This is particularly relevant in present times as they stay home safe,” an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch.
Amazon’s foray into the food delivery market could create new challenges for Prosus Ventures-backed Swiggy, and Zomato, an 11-year-old startup that acquired Uber Eats’ business in India in January this year, and Google-backed Dunzo, which operates in Bangalore and counts food delivery as one of the biggest parts of its business.
