Zomato has been battling with Swiggy for dominance in the Indian food-tech market but Delivery Hero's acquisition of the Haryana-based company could allow the food discovery service to claim the top spot, a new report suggested.
According to Entrepreneur contributor Bhavya Kaushal, Zomato's position in India's food-tech market could improve through the acquisition and it could spur changes in the industry as the years pass. Delivery Hero has all the experience and resources that the Indian firm needs to overtake Swiggy and other startups.
It is worth noting that aside from the German food giant's backing, Zomato also has the support of other giant investors including Sequoia Capital India, Shunwei Capital, and Jack Ma's Ant Financial.
Delivery Hero, on the other hand, is backed by Naspers, one of Swiggy's investors. Analysts believe that the acquisition could mean that Naspers is looking to dominate the Indian food-tech industry and this could spell a lot of positive changes for the market.
Swiggy has been performing well over the past years and Zomato went all out to meet its rival head on. With Delivery Hero's full support, experts predict that the battle between two of India's top food-tech service providers will be interesting and challenging at the same time.
Zomato further gained the attention of investors and industry experts when it announced last week that it has given Chief Operating Officer (COO) Guarav Gupta the title of co-founder. Co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal made the announcement himself by sending an internal email to employees.
According to the Times of India, Goyal said in the email that Gupta's additional title is "not a 'reward'" but instead is a form of "empowerment" for leaders who display potential for other roles.
Goyal said in his internal email that Gupta contributed to a number of the firm's arms including events arm Zomaland, payments department Zomato Pay, and Zomato Gold, the firm's subscription service.
The outlet pointed out that this move is uncommon in the corporate world since companies usually create co-founder titles early on. Zomato waited for four years with Gupta before it handed him the title, prompting interest among enthusiasts and food-tech market analysts.
Revant Bhate, a partner at Kstart, said Zomato's latest announcement is "a good sign" since it shows that the food-tech industry is moving towards a more mature future. Bhate added that execution is the key when building a team that sees founders having the willingness to "share credit" with company leaders who are making significant contributions to growth.
