Uber launches food delivery service UberEATS in Mumbai, will take on likes of Zomato, Swiggy
Uber launched its food delivery service UberEATS in Mumbai today
Four months after the initial announcement, cab aggregator Uber officially launched its on-demand food delivery app UberEATS in India, starting with Mumbai. The service will compete with the existing providers like Zomato and Swiggy.
The San Francisco-based company launched the service in Mumbai on Tuesday, and is expected to extend it in five more cities by the end of this year. The other cities are likely Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gurugram and Chennai.
“Mumbai is home to a booming food industry with a vibrant food culture offering both global and local cuisines. The introduction of UberEats in India is a major step in our global expansion and showcases our commitment to the region,” head of UberEATS India, Bhavik Rathod, said in a statement.
“The app brings the perfect pairing of restaurant partners, innovative technology, and our delivery network at a tap of a button,” he added.
Uber’s food delivery service, first launched in August 2014 in the US, is currently available in 78 cities across 26 countries today.
For its India launch, the company is aiming at a delivery time of under 35 minutes and has partnered with over 200 restaurants offering a range of cuisines. The restaurants include Le 15 Patisserie, The Bohri Kitchen, Freshmenu, Coffee by Di Bella and Good Wife.
After downloading the standalone app and logging in, users can browse through various options, which can be sorted via delivery time, pricing, popularity etc. Users can also search for a particular dish, restaurant or cuisine available around their location.
While there is no minimum order requirement at the moment, UberEATS will levy a Rs 15 fee on each delivery. Once the order is placed, users can track it realtime with the app.
As of today, users can pay for their orders via their Uber credit balance or PayTM. Moreover, the service is only available in select areas within Mumbai.
Back in 2015, Uber’s rival Ola had also launched an in-app food delivery service called Ola Café. However, it shut the service in a year’s time due to competition from rivals like Zomato and Swiggy – both of whom serve thousands of customers everyday in Mumbai alone.
Apart from UberEATS, the newest entrant in India’s food delivery space is technology giant Google, which launched its app Areo in Mumbai last month.
