Over 300 hotels in Bengaluru join ONDC; 60,000 deliveries a day

BBHA partners with GrowthFalcons on ONDC to challenge Zomato and Swiggy dominance in Bengaluru food delivery market.

In July this year, the Bruhat Bengaluru Hoteliers Association (BBHA) partnered with GrowthFalcons, a seller-side platform on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), to challenge the dominance of two major players in the city’s food delivery market. Using Ola Consumers as the buyer app, at least 50,000-60,000 daily food delivery orders from Bengaluru are now being placed on ONDC.

“With Zomato and Swiggy controlling a significant portion of the food delivery market, hoteliers had been exploring ONDC since 2023 to benefit both consumers and restaurant managements,” said P.C. Rao, president of BBHA. “Over 300 hotels, which come under BBHA, have been onboarded on ONDC now, including popular names like Vidyarthi Bhavan, Kamat, and Swathi groups.”

“The market monopoly led to higher delivery charges for customers and hidden costs for hoteliers. Our partnership with GrowthFalcons aims to create a win-win situation for all stakeholders,” Rao explained. “We expect more than 1,000 restaurants to join the platform gradually, and customers can hope for approximately 15-25% lower costs for food deliveries compared to other platforms.”

While ONDC’s food delivery platform offers numerous discounts and free deliveries, customers have encountered some inconveniences. For instance, the food section of one of the buyer apps requires a minimum order value of ₹130.

“On other food delivery apps, I can place orders as low as ₹30,” said Kshama R., a resident of Yelahanka New Town. “When I tried to use ONDC, I couldn’t order an ice cream that cost only ₹70.”

Another issue, highlighted on social media, involves orders marked as delivered when they were not. Customers complained of paying for orders they never received.

Girish Pai, founder and CEO of GrowthFalcons, acknowledged that this is a common problem across logistics apps. “Delivery agents may face issues like bike problems or accidents, preventing them from completing deliveries. In such cases, another delivery partner is usually assigned. If this doesn’t happen and the status shows delivered, customers can raise a ticket with GrowthFalcons for a refund,” Pai explained.