E-commerce major Amazon has announced that it is scaling its food delivery service, Amazon Food, to 62 pin codes across Bengaluru, covering localities such as Whitefield, HSR, Sarjapur, Koramangala, Indiranagar, MG Road, Jayanagar, JP Nagar, Frazer Town, Malleshwaram, Rajajinagar, and Vijayanagar, with over 2,500 restaurants and cloud kitchens now serving customers on its platform. This move by Amazon, which entered the food delivery market in May 2020, is set to bring more competition to food delivery giants Zomato and Swiggy.
Amazon announced that it waived packaging fees for all customers using the Amazon Food service as an introductory offer, but it will continue to charge a delivery fee of ₹19 for customers who do not have an Amazon Prime subscription.
Amazon Food currently offers delivery from brands like Burger King, Taco Bell, Subway, Behrouz Biriyani, Chai Point, and others. The E-commerce giant said that customers in Bangalore can choose from a wide range of 48 cuisines and dishes such as Indian, Chinese, Italian, biriyani, burgers, and desserts between 7 am and 11 pm every day.
Sameer Khetarpal, director of category management at Amazon India, said, “With the expansion of Amazon Food in Bengaluru, we continue in our endeavor to offer unmatched convenience and value while being a part of their everyday lives. Amazon Food brings some of the city’s top restaurants including national outlets and as well as local favorites which are popular and follow strict delivery and safety protocols.”
A customer can access the Amazon Food service through the Amazon India app. A dedicated Food icon is also visible for customers who have entered one of the supported PINs in the Amazon app.
Amazon Food made its debut when restaurants and hotels had closed shutters due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdown. The year also witnessed record orders for Swiggy and Zomato – Zomato hit a peak of 4254 orders minute and witnessed record gross merchandise in the evening on December 31, while Swiggy hit a peak of 5500 orders per minute on December 31.
Recently, Zomato had raised $250 million from existing and new investors ahead of its proposed IPO in June, putting the valuation of the company at $5.4 billion.
