Food delivery giants drive with the health wave to fat margins

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. The health remedy drives premiumization on platforms and pushes the average order values ​​higher. (Pixabay) Summary In response to India’s tendency to healthy eating, Zomato and swiggy improve their platforms with functions such as ‘Healthy Mode’ and a high protein category. Although these initiatives are aimed at increasing order values, restaurants are concerned about higher costs and margins affecting profitability. Bengaluru/New Delhi: Majors of Food Delivery Zomato and Swiggy bet Groot on the health wave-a pressure aimed at practicing India’s fitness-conscious dinners while filling margins. The bet drives the premise on their platforms and pushes the average order values ​​higher. Earlier known as Zomato, Eternal Ltd. on Monday rolled out ‘Healthy Mode’, a new pilot function that assesses meals at their nutritional value. The pilot function is currently only available in Gurugram and will be expanded to other cities in the coming months. The launch comes at a time when the growth in the food delivery segment began to delay. According to a Goldman Sachs report on September 1, the growth of the net order value (Nov) of Zomato is expected to be about 18% moderate in FY26, far below the threefold digit to be seen in clipping. This reflects an adult market where user supplements have delayed, making a higher average order values ​​a key lever for growth. Analysts agree that the move is on time. “The newer generation is moving to healthy food, so I think it’s a wonderful step. But still, whether the premium will really happen, still has to be seen,” says Sandeep Abhange, research analyst, consumer and mid -caps at LKP Securities. Important takeaways Zomato and SWIGGY use the tendency towards healthy eating to drive premiumization and increase their average order values ​​(AOV), with the aim of maintaining growth amid an adult, moderation of food deliverance market (18% projected net order value for Zomato in FY26). Zomato launched the pilot function ‘Healthy Mode’ in Gurugram to assess nutritional value, while swiggy rolled out a high protein category in 30 cities and worked with McDonald’s for a limited time protein series. Restaurant partners express their concern that platforms that charge high commissions on healthy dishes will significantly erode their profit margins, despite the visibility increase. The strategy is supported by consumer data, which shows that Indians are prepared to pay a 22% premium for ‘healthy’ food variants, suggesting a market for the higher price items. The most important driver for the platforms is the need to increase the gross order value to justify high valuations and to compensate the pressure on margins caused by significant investments in fast trading arms such as Blinkit and Instamart. To be sure, Zomato is not alone. On the heels of the launch of Zomato, Swiggy announced on Wednesday that it has expanded its high protein category to more than 160 cities, bringing the total to more than 1 million dishes over 1.4 Lakh restaurants. The Bengaluru-based platform also introduced three new subcategories-Low Cal, No Fry and Gluten Free-together with protein minis, a series of bite-sized protein-laden meals with 5-15 grams of protein per serving. The move deepens Swiggy’s health focus, after an initial launch in July last month drew 2.4 million clients into the category, Swiggy said in a press release. But restaurants say the new push comes with trade -in. Restaurant exchanges “Yes, a healthy mode helps us to be discovered, but the side of the side is margins. If customers already pay 20-25% extra for healthy dishes, and in addition the platforms charge on the same high commission, this is the benefit we can see. For us, it’s not a straight victory,” the owner of a Gurugram Health Café said. Another Bistro founder was more careful. “The idea sounds good, but healthy doesn’t always mean fast. A gurugram-based Fusion Chef has marked a different risk. “Customers like to try new things, but if the price feels too steep compared to ordinary dishes, they move back quickly. For restaurants, the risk of preparing a high cost stock that does not sell beyond a trial phase.” Yet this move reflects a broader, growing trend among Indians to consume healthy eating options. According to a recent Worldpanel report by counter, it revealed that Indian consumers are willing to pay 22% more for ‘healthy’ variants of food products, with even lower socio-economic groups (SEC d/e) paying 17% more. Categories such as tea and bottled soft drinks have the highest premium. Emails sent to Zomato and Swiggy did not elicit an answer. But the economy of healthy food is challenging. “Healthy food is at least 1.5 to 2 times more expensive than normal food,” said Abhange, LKP Securities. ‘It will take time for customers to get used to it. The success will also depend on how well these platforms work with new restaurants and healthy outlets coming over metro cities. ‘ Growth pressure for Zomato and Swiggy, the underlying goal remains the same – which weakens the gross order value (GOV). “The target is mainly to improve their gross order value,” Abhange explained. ‘There is pressure on growth. Although they have just begun to place profits, their valuations are still high. To justify the valuations, they must continue to grow, and the growth will come mainly by improving the gross order value. ‘ The Goldman Sachs report also said that although brightened is expected to be 100%+ growth in Nov in FY26, the growth of food delivery relatively dimmed, to the high teens. That divergence underlines why Zomato and swiggy lean a lot on premiumization and healthy eating trends to maintain momentum. Swiggy’s average order value has gradually recorded over the years and has risen from £ 407 in FY22 to £ 458 in FY25. Eternal (formerly Zomato) does not break AOV in the same way as it defines the net order value as gross order value minus discount. Eternal’s food delivery November grew by 20% year -on -year to £ 32,862 in FY25. The turnover from the segment rose faster, by 27% to £ 8,080, which is largely driven through the growth in November. Still, brightness, his quick trade arm, is fast-paced-in the first quarter of the FY26, Blinkit Alone was responsible for about £ 10,000 of the total net order value of £ 20,183, which almost competes on scale the food delivery company. While Instamart accounts for 14% of Swiggy’s revenue in 2024-25, Blinkit has contributed 26% to Eternals. This push comes amid India’s growing tendency towards healthy eating, even if both are sharp losses. Swiggy reported a loss of £ 896 in the quarter ended June 30, while Eternal reported a sharp drop of 90% on a year-to-year in the net profit to £ 25 crore, as investments in ultra-fast delivery and a stock-led model were weighed on the margin. New user base on Zomato, an ordinary smoothie bowl, may cost around £ 250-300, but under a healthy mode, similar pickups are often listed in the £ 350-450 series. A regular roasted sandwich is usually listed at around £ 180-200, while a multigrain or high protein variant under a healthy mode usually costs £ 280-320. A simple Dal-Chawal combination of a mainstream restaurant is an average of £ 150-180, but a Quinoa and-Lentil baking that is labeled as a healthy mode can range up to £ 300-350. A World Panel at Teller Report found that Indian consumers are willing to pay 22% more for ‘healthy’ variants of food products, with even lower socio-economic groups (SEC d/e) paying 17% more. Among the wealthy households earning £ 30 or more, almost 71% are willing to pay a premium for healthy and ‘pure’ food, Mint reported earlier. Sachin Taparia, founder of local circles, said it could also unlock a new user base. “By making healthier options available, platforms can occasionally turn users into ordinary people-someone who ordered twice a month can easily become a customer of four or five times a month.” However, the balance between premium prices and scale will be critical. Healthier options are usually 20-50% higher than ordinary dishes, but to attract volumes, they need to be priced more competingly-with a maximum premium of 20%, Taparia noted. And history offers warning lessons. “In the grocery space, premium offerings priced 30-50% higher to find scale,” Taparia said. Catch all the corporate news and updates on live currency. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates and live business news. More topics #swiggy read next story