Ahead of much awaited IPO, what is Swiggy upto? Launching XL Fleet, premium membership and kicking out Zomato CEO

Food and grocery delivery behemoth Swiggy is on a roll, pushing out multiple new services simultaneously, ahead of the festive season, and its much-touted Rs 11,664 crore IPO. Experts anticipate the IPO to hit the bourses in the upcoming months.

Earlier last week, the company's shareholders had approved of raising the fresh issue component of the IPO, from Rs 3,750 crore previously to Rs 5,000 crore. This will allow Swiggy to add an extra Rs 1,250 crores to its coffers for future growth. The remaining Rs 6,664 crore will be an OFS (offer for sale), largely paving a way for Swiggy's old investors to exit.

In the buildup to its IPO, the delivery giant is dialing up the competitive fever big time with rival Zomato, which went public in 2021. Swiggy recently launched XL Fleet for large-scale food delivery and Bolt, which is an AI-powered logistics system. Per some media reports, the company is also launching an invite-only concierge membership program called the "Rare Club", which will have an annual fee of up to Rs 50,000.

Who doesn't love a little pettiness?

But that's not it. In the time being, Swiggy is also aggressively looking for ways to gain maximum public attention, one of which is by sponsoring the fourth season of the popular entrepreneurial reality show Shark Tank India. But here's the catch-a key condition of this deal is to not bring back Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal as a shark.

Media reports suggest that Swiggy is set to close on a massive Rs 40-60 crore sponsorship deal with the show. But in a seemingly low-ball move, Swiggy has blocked the return of Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal as one of the investors on the show. Goyal had made his debut on the third season of the show, and was looking to make a comeback alongside long-time regulars such as Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Namita Thapar and Peyush Bansal.

Bolting ahead with XL

In a move that clearly underlines its ambitious expansion plans, Swiggy also recently announced the launch of its new XL Fleet service, which will look to cater exclusively to bulk orders and large-scale food deliveries. Per Swiggy's co-founder Nandan Reddy, XL is a natural evolution of Swiggy's services. As it is, a recent report by Bain and Company highlighted that India's food services market is set to double to a massive Rs 9 trillion by 2030, surging up significantly from its current standing of Rs 5.5 trillion.

Not just that, the customer base is also set to expand from 320-340 million as of 2023 to 430-450 million by the end of the decade. Earlier this year, Zomato had also stepped in this segment by launching its large-order electric fleet, which could serve orders for a gathering of up to 50 people.

Alongside this, Swiggy has unveiled Bolt, which is an AI-powered logistics system specifically designed to optimize delivery routes, predict demand patterns, and improve overall operational efficiency. The aim is to bring down on delivery time and costs, giving Swiggy a massive competitive edge in the growing food and quick delivery market. With this feature, Swiggy claims that users can get certain meals such as burgers,

Challenges Await

As of FY24, Swiggy's operating revenue stood at ₹112.5 billion, a 36% jump from the previous year. The company also managed to reduce its net losses by as much as 44% to ₹23.5 billion. While these may come across as positive signs, which are also pushing the company's unlisted shares to new heights, Swiggy significantly lags behind Zomato in both food delivery and quick commerce segment.

Consider this. Per Morgan Stanely, as of FY24, Swiggy's GOV (gross order value) at Rs 24,700 crore, was far lower than Zomato's Rs 32,200 crore. Swiggy's GOV and AOV grew at a CAGR of 15.5% and 2.5% respectively, between FY22-24. In contrast, Zomato's GOV and AOV registered a CAGR of 23% and 3.7%, respectively.

At 12.7 million, Swiggy's MTU (monthly transacting users) for FY24 were also a far cry behind Zomato's 18.4 million. Even when it comes to average order value (AOV), Swiggy's Instamart lags behind Zomato's Blinkit. This is also why analysts believe that despite Swiggy narrowing the gap on most key metrics like AOV, GOV and more, the company's share will command a lower valuation than that of its rival Zomato.