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The introduction and quick development of digital technologies and the data they generate are changing how different industries compete (Broekhuizen et al., 2021). The business network aggregator models are quickly taking over as the main forces behind digital transformation in all industries. One of the developing yet fastest-growing markets, the food-tech sector is now driven by a substantial number of digital entrepreneurial activities. Food-Tech is thus developing as an ecosystem of agri-food start-ups and entrepreneurs innovating in business models, marketing, distribution, and other areas. Consequently, the Food-tech sector is developing as a potential aggregator market (Raman, 2018).
Meanwhile, Food-tech has evolved from mere food processing and food manufacturing technology to include online food processing, ordering, and delivery. The sixth-largest food industry in the world, India, has experienced unheard-of size and revenue growth over the past five years (IBEF Report, 2020).
With the development of technology and smartphones, the consumer lifestyle has significantly changed (Ghose & Han, 2014). The online food delivery (OFD) industry is no exception. According to IMARC Report, the 2020 Indian OFD market will witness double-digit growth during the forecast period (2020-2025). In the past, the Indian OFD market reached a US$ 3.6 billion value in 2019 (IBEF Report, 2020). The OFD market in India is therefore anticipated to grow at compound annual growth rates of 30.55% (based on revenue) and 10.19% (based on the number of users) between 2020 and 2024 to produce INR 1,334.99 Bn in revenue and create a user base of 300.57 Mn by that year (Research & Market Report, 2020).
Tong et al. (2020) defined the OFD platform as the platform that establishes connections between customers and merchants as well as between drivers and customers, creating what is known as a dyadic two-sided market structure. Restaurant-to-consumer delivery and platform-to-consumer delivery are the two subcategories of OFD services. The former involves online delivery services that send orders from partner restaurants. Platforms offer services like restaurant hygiene, monitoring, real-time order tracking, and payment but do not prepare the food. (Pigatto et al., 2017). Platforms accurately direct the delivery agents using their built-in cutting-edge route optimisation and order planning algorithms to guarantee on-time deliveries. The media uses additional checks and balances, such as customer reviews for restaurants and drivers (Shroff et al., 2022).
Platform-to-customer service providers like Swiggy FreshMenu, Faasos and Zomato are significant players in the Indian OFD market. Some businesses, like Box8, Domino's and KFC, use a restaurant-to-customer delivery model. On the other hand, there have been some collateral damages due to heightened competition and unstable growth policies. Due to significant losses, businesses like Eat Fresh and TinyOwl were forced to close. Even Food Panda, a sizable online food delivery marketplace with 13 countries that were repeatedly acquired by Delivery Hero and then by OLA, is having trouble competing in the industry. Zomato, an Indian provider of food delivery services, paid $350 million in an all-stock deal to acquire Uber Eats' Indian operations in January 2020. The combined company of Zomato and Uber Eat India is anticipated to command a market share of between 50 and 55 per cent in terms of quantity and price of orders. Start-ups offering online food delivery have entirely changed how Indians eat. This innovative industry has changed how we view food, from delivery drivers equipped with smartphones to an app that uses routing algorithms.