by Aman Mishra in New Delhi
The National Restaurant’s Association of India (NRAI) considers filing a complaint with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against Zomato and Swiggy over their recently introduced quick food delivery applications Bistro and Snacc respectively, according to a local press reports.
The NRAI represents over 500,000 restaurants in India and has accused Zomato and Swiggy of undermining fair competition and threatening industry viability by running private labels. The apps have raised significant concerns among restaurant partners.
The NRAI has flagged the operations of Bistro and Snacc as examples of private labeling, a practice that it claims violates marketplace neutrality. The apps work on the premise of offering 10 to 15-minute deliveries by sourcing food and beverages from third-party vendors and delivering them through dark stores. NRAI claims that Zomato and Swiggy are utilising the restaurant and customer data in their private-label offerings, which will lead to the migration of consumers from their stores.
Furthermore, Zomato and Swiggy do not share data with restaurants, leading to a lack of transparency and data misuse – another concern highlighted by the NRAI, which creates an uneven playing field and erosion of trust between restaurants and aggregators. It also risks monopolising the market by bypassing traditional restaurants with the advent of private-label initiatives.
NRAI further claims that this practice would constitute an abuse of dominant position by Zomato and Swiggy.
However, the Indian competition regime does not have the ‘collective dominance’ concept, so it is not clear how NRAI will proceed with the allegations.
NRAI views the actions of food aggregators as a direct threat to restaurant partners, who rely on these platforms for visibility and business. NRAI deems selling competing products through private labels unacceptable. It emphasises that quick commerce in food delivery is welcome as long as it involves aggregators working with restaurants to enable faster service.
Sources: local newswires
| Aman Mishra is a tech policy researcher. He is currently working on research focusing on the evolving landscape of competition law in India. If you share an interest in tech policy and you would like to reach out, you can contact Aman via email at akm.policyandlaw@gmail.com. Please note that the views and opinions expressed are solely Aman Mishra’s and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of his employer. |
