IJSMT Journal

International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology

An International, Peer-Reviewed, Open Access Scholarly Journal Indexed in recognized academic databases · DOI via Crossref The journal adheres to established scholarly publishing, peer-review, and research ethics guidelines set by the UGC

ISSN: 3108-1762 (Online)
webp (1)

Plagiarism Passed
Peer reviewed
Open Access

THE ECONOMICS OF AFFORDABLE FOOD DELIVERY: EVALUATING SWIGGY’S TOING BUSINESS MODEL IN INDIA

AUTHORS:
Avika Doneria
Mentor
Affiliation
INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER
CC BY 4.0 License:
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
India’s online food delivery market has grown on the back of convenience, but rising platform fees, packaging charges and taxes have pushed many orders beyond the reach of students, early-career workers and smaller-town consumers. In September 2025, Swiggy responded with Toing, a standalone budget delivery app built around menu-price parity, simplified fees and lower restaurant commissions. This paper evaluates the economics of that model using a secondary-research case-study design. Drawing on Swiggy’s Q1 FY27 disclosures, earnings-call commentary, trade-press price audits and rival statements, it assesses Toing through three lenses: two-sided platform pricing, unit economics at low order values, and competitive sustainability against zero-commission entrants such as Rapido’s Ownly. The evidence suggests that Toing is best understood as a market-expansion and segmentation strategy rather than a pure price cut: management reports that about two in three new Toing users are new or dormant, and that roughly 70% of Swiggy users transact less than once a month. However, Toing-specific profitability is undisclosed, low basket sizes put pressure on fixed last-mile costs, and Swiggy’s rival Eternal argues that sub-₹150 delivery cannot work without supply-chain innovation. The paper concludes that Toing’s viability depends on achieving higher order frequency, ad monetisation and delivery efficiency at scale, and identifies the data that future primary research should collect.

 
Keywords
food delivery; platform economics; two-sided markets; affordability; unit economics; Swiggy; Toing; India
Article Metrics
Article Views
34
PDF Downloads
3
HOW TO CITE
APA

MLA

Chicago

Copy

Doneria, A. (2026). The Economics of Affordable Food Delivery: Evaluating Swiggy’s Toing Business Model in India. International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology, 02(10), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsmt.v2i10.092

Doneria, Avika. "The Economics of Affordable Food Delivery: Evaluating Swiggy’s Toing Business Model in India." International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology, vol. 02, no. 10, 2026, pp. 1-9. doi:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsmt.v2i10.092.

Doneria, Avika. "The Economics of Affordable Food Delivery: Evaluating Swiggy’s Toing Business Model in India." International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology 02, no. 10 (2026): 1-9. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsmt.v2i10.092.

References
AFAQS. (2025). Rapido enters food delivery with ‘Ownly.’ https://www.afaqs.com/news/mktg/rapido-enters-food-delivery-with-ownly-9350311

Apple App Store. (2025). toing – Food Delivery [App listing]. Swiggy. https://apps.apple.com/app/id6748918399

Armstrong, M. (2006). Competition in two-sided markets. RAND Journal of Economics, 37(3), 668–691.

Bansal, A. (2025, September 16). New Swiggy venture ‘Toing’ claims to serve meals under Rs 250, but does it really save money? MediaNama. https://www.medianama.com/2025/09/223-toing-app-swiggy-save-money-on-meals/

Business Today. (2026, July 28). No platform fees, 20,000 restaurants: Rapido’s ‘Ownly’ food delivery goes live within the main app. https://www.businesstoday.in/amp/latest/trends/story/no-platform-fees-20000-restaurants-rapidos-ownly-food-delivery-goes-live-within-the-main-app-545689-2026-07-28

Christensen, C. M. (1997). The innovator’s dilemma: When new technologies cause great firms to fail.Harvard Business School Press.

Inc42. (2025a). Swiggy debuts ‘toing’ app for affordable meal delivery. https://inc42.com/buzz/swiggy-toing-app-launch-affordable-meal-delivery/

Inc42. (2026a). Swiggy’s food delivery profit slips sequentially as LPG supply disruption hits margins.https://inc42.com/?p=566475

Inc42. (2026b). Swiggy’s Instamart turns a corner. https://inc42.com/features/swiggys-instamart-turns-a-corner/

Inc42. (2026c). Swiggy’s money map: The verticals built around food delivery core. https://inc42.com/? p=572928

MediaNama. (2026, March). Rapido Ownly Bengaluru: Can a zero-commission model sustain without charging restaurants? https://www.medianama.com/2026/03/223-rapido-ownly-bengaluru-zero-commission-model-sustain-without-charging-restaurants/

Multibagg. (2026). Swiggy CMD 2026: Growth, margins, and the next phase of hyperlocal commerce.

https://www.multibagg.ai/market-pulse/articles/swiggy-cmd-2026-97314

Outlook Business. (2026). Rapido brings Ownly to main app to scale zero-commission food delivery. https://www.outlookbusiness.com/corporate/rapido-brings-ownly-to-main-app-to-scale-zero-commission-food-delivery

Parker, G. G., & Van Alstyne, M. W. (2005). Two-sided network effects: A theory of information product design. Management Science, 51(10), 1494–1504.

Prahalad, C. K., & Hart, S. L. (2002). The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid. Strategy + Business, 26, 54–67.

Restaurant India. (2026). NRAI signs MoU with Ownly to explore zero-commission food delivery model. https://www.restaurantindia.in/news/nrai-signs-mou-with-ownly-to-explore-zero-commission-food-delivery-model.n16856
Ethics and Compliance
✓ All ethical standards met
This article has undergone plagiarism screening and double-blind peer review. Editorial policies have been followed. Authors retain copyright under CC BY-NC 4.0 license. The research complies with ethical standards and institutional guidelines.
Indexed In
Similar Articles
Logistics and Supply Chain Performance Dashboard
string(15) "Priyanka Behera" Behera, P.
(2026)
DOI: 10.55041/ijsmt.v2i6.064
Optimized Structural Analysis and Design of a Long-Span Pre-Engineered Steel Warehouse using STAAD.Pro
string(11) "A Siddartha" Siddartha, A.et al.
(2026)
DOI: 10.55041/ijsmt.v2i3.126
Recivable Management and Billing & Taxation in Maruth Aircon Engineering
string(17) "PRAHADEESWARAN .V" .V, P.
(2026)
DOI: 10.55041/ijsmt.v2i5.530
Scroll to Top