Thiruvananthapuram: Going by its density, restaurants might be the most popular hangout of the city residents. However, with the busy schedules, increasing fuel prices and cramped parking lots in the city, more and more people are opting for doorstep delivery of food. Giving a big boost to the trend, global online food ordering companies have reached the city.Following the footsteps of Uber Eats, popular brands such as Swiggy and Zomato have begun operations here last week and Foodpanda will also join the competition soon. Offering eye-popping rates and no minimum order amount, these apps have found a place in the list of favourite apps of city residents. Delivery executives of these brands carrying backpacks speeding in two-wheelers have become a common sight in all major city roads city.The food delivery services are nothing new to the city which has seen a lot of local players. Homegrown brands such as Swapp, Streetbell, PinStove, Rabbito and Hoppon have been in the market for over a year now. Bavani Srinu, the co-founder of Swapp, said that they did not see any threat from the global brands. “We not just focus on food delivery. Ours is a platform which engages clients ranging from fresh fish to Montessori. It is true that newly launched brands are spending a lot of money. We are not into aggressive marketing. We have around 15,000 downloads so far and have developed a trust-based relationship with our users. Also, we charge only one-third of what these apps charge on the vendors,” she said.Many hoteliers, though joined the bandwagon, are wary of the trend. “I just don’t want to miss the boat,” said a restaurant owner. “These delivery apps are charging 10-30%. Also, when they announce introductory offers, of say 50%, 30% is offered by them and 20% by us. We, being in the restaurant industry, have to spend depending on our sale. So increased sale does not always mean increased profit. At the same time, we cannot sit back and watch how the trend goes. Others will catch up,” the hotelier said on condition of anonymity.Hyder Ali, owner of Irani Restaurant at Nanthencode, said that his firm had tied up with Zomato, Uber Eats and Swiggy, as it would increase its online presence and reach. “I have tie-ups with food delivery apps for some time. Earlier, it was just Streetbell. The one benefit I see is that I could only connect with customers around Kowdiar, now those in Jagathy too are within our reach,” he said.Meanwhile, customers are happy with the new competitive environment in the market. Renjith Thilakan, an IT professional, said new offers made biriyani available at Rs 79 and 50% off on all food items. “I make 4-5 orders per week. Fast delivery is one speciality. My order placed at 12.30 am was delivered within 5 minutes at my house near Phase III campus of Technopark. I depend on apps when I eat alone. When with friends, I still prefer going to a restaurant,” he said. Renjith said that he always preferred to buy food from restaurants he trusts. “Recently, I started buying from new restaurants due to special offers provided by the apps,” he added.K S Chandrasekhar, the head of the Institute of Management in Kerala, University of Kerala, said the trend was good for both the industry and customers. “A customer who wanted to eat from a particular hotel but didn’t want to test his luck for a parking lot would have skipped the plan in the past. He can now order his favourite dish through the apps. A hotelier can save the money for infrastructure even if he needs to pay a commission for the service provider,” he pointed out.According to Chandrasekhar, the players offer incentives initially to buy the loyalty of customers. “Food is a primary need. You can’t give it up like secondary needs like luxury transport which is the case with cabs,” he said arguing that the business wouldn’t be hit even after some time when the aggregators withdraw offers.

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