Flipkart is expanding meal ordering in Bengaluru with an employee test of 'Eat-in by Minutes,' a food tab inside its main shopping app that lets staff buy restaurant meals without leaving the platform. The pilot has widened from a few hundred workers to more than 8,000, and it uses an Ekart rider fleet that is separate from the couriers handling Minutes orders.
The service pulls restaurant listings from ONDC, the government-backed network linking online buyers and sellers across apps, along with venues Flipkart signed directly. Riders in Eat-in by Minutes jerseys are already making deliveries in Bengaluru, and restaurants have been told a public debut is planned by the end of October before a move into five or six cities by year end.
A dedicated Ekart rider fleet ties food orders more tightly to Flipkart's existing app and quick-commerce traffic, giving restaurants another route beyond Zomato and Swiggy. A base commission around 10% shifts the pitch from convenience alone to margin relief for restaurants if the broader rollout stays on schedule.
Image Credit: Flipkart
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Low-commission Food Delivery
- Reduced marketplace fees create room for restaurant-friendly delivery models that compete on margins as much as convenience.
- Embedded Meal Ordering
- Food tabs inside high-traffic commerce apps turn existing customer attention into a lower-friction path for everyday meal purchases.
- Network-based Restaurant Discovery
- Open digital networks such as ONDC expand restaurant visibility across multiple apps while reducing dependence on dominant aggregators.
Where This Applies
- Food Delivery
- Alternative commission structures can reshape platform economics and give restaurants more leverage in digital ordering channels.
- Quick Commerce
- Shared app traffic and specialized rider fleets blur the line between instant retail fulfillment and prepared-meal delivery.
- Restaurant Technology
- Integrated ordering infrastructure enables restaurants to access new demand sources without relying solely on traditional delivery marketplaces.
