Restaurant India News: Magicpin, Rapido Partners to Challenge Zomato-Swiggy's Food Delivery Duopoly

Magicpin and Rapido have teamed up to challenge the dominance of Zomato and Swiggy, with Magicpin integrating its nationwide restaurant network into Rapido’s food delivery platform, Ownly, according to people familiar with the development.

The partnership will give Rapido access to Magicpin’s extensive network of over 80,000 restaurants once onboarding is complete, helping Ownly expand rapidly beyond its launch city of Bengaluru. In return, Magicpin will be able to tap into Rapido’s delivery fleet in select markets, strengthening its logistics capabilities.

"Rapido primarily on-boards restaurants directly through our merchant team, with only a very small share coming via partners like magicpin. We also work with magicpin and others in select cities as a logistics provider, where our captain fleet supports last-mile deliveries. Our focus remains on building reliable, affordable, full-stack discovery and delivery solutions for merchants, while ensuring a seamless experience for customers and captains," Rapido said in a statement.

Despite its potential, the Magicpin–Rapido partnership faces significant challenges. Food delivery is a tough, low-margin business where rider payouts, delivery costs, and customer discounts must be carefully balanced. The two companies also need to strengthen ties with restaurants and brands that are already managing multiple delivery platforms.

This partnership gives more choices and possibly better economics for both customers and restaurant partners. It has also noted an unusual detail: Zomato holds about a 15% stake in Magicpin.

The partnership comes at a time of major shifts in the delivery ecosystem. In September, Swiggy’s board approved selling its stake in Roppen Transportation Services, Rapido’s parent company, for about ₹2,400 crore. Swiggy had earlier said it was reconsidering its investment due to a growing conflict of interest as Rapido expands its food delivery business.