SWIGGY'S PUSH FOR PROFITS

AFTER FOOD DELIVERY PLATFORM SWIGGY'S LISTING, THE FOCUS HAS SHIFTED BACK TO HOW ITS BUSINESSES, INCLUDING THE NASCENT QUICK COMMERCE FORAY THROUGH INSTAMART, CAN GET PROFITABLE. IT NEEDS TO MOVE FAST BECAUSE THE COMPETITION IS HEATING UP

- KRISHNA GOPALAN

As founding stories go, Swiggy's is fascinating and one that is emblematic of the start-up journey in India's Silicon Valley, Bengaluru. Swiggy was born "over two good beers" with Co-founder Nandan Reddy at Arbor Brewing, a craft brewery in Bengaluru, says Sriharsha Majety, Cofounder and CEO of the firm.

What does it mean? With a wide grin, he says the logic was simple: it had to be short and catchy. "We were throwing darts with names and came up with Swiggy. I think it's a fun name and has worked."

That was over a decade ago, and since then the firm, which has food delivery and quick commerce segments, has raised a lot of money and explored new business opportunities. And it went public last November. At an offer price of ₹390, it was listed at ₹412 and dipped below its offer price to close at ₹362 on February 10.

But it is locked in an intense fight with Zomato for market share in the food delivery space, and now it is embroiled in a battle in the intensely competitive quick commerce space with Zomato, Zepto, and a clutch of new entrants looking to get a slice of the pie.

There is little doubt that investors are interested in technology-first new-age sectors, but the chorus for profitability has increased. It is no different for Swiggy.

In Swiggy's core business of food delivery, while revenue surged from ₹3,414 crore in FY22 to ₹5,192 crore in FY24, it was still in the red, though losses fell drastically from ₹1,378 crore in FY22 to just over ₹9 crore in FY24. Overall, revenue nearly doubled from ₹5,728 crore in FY22 to ₹11,279 crore in FY24. Meanwhile, losses decreased from ₹3,138 crore to ₹1,612 crore in FY24.

BUILDING OUT