For all the dishes Swiggy brings to the customers, there is a dedicated team of restaurant partners that creates them. Here’s how the partnership took the next step in 2023!
2023 was filled with some great moments for Swiggy. We turned nine and continued to remain unstoppable in our mission to deliver ‘Unparalleled Convenience’ across India. And on this mission, we were ably supported by our restaurant partners, who time and again showed the magic their hands possess, bringing to life some scrumptious dishes around the clock. This journey would have been impossible without their continued trust and belief in Swiggy, and for that very reason we sent them personalised gifts with a ‘Heart Full of Gratitude’. Rohit Kapoor (CEO – Food Marketplace) shared his thoughts on the year that was and how this partnership will continue to pave the way for great success in 2024.
What were some of the key highlights for restaurant partners with Swiggy in 2023?
So this year has been fantastic on many fronts with Restaurant Partners. One is, we have just added thousands of partners. I think it is always great when more restaurant partners come and work with you. Second is, we work with all kinds of restaurant partners, be it national brands, small kachori shops and it is delightful that we are able to partner with such a wide cross-section. Third, I’ll say, we launched a bunch of products this year to focus on growth, focus on giving them more information, and focus on self-serv abilities. So this has been a good year I feel, but there is a long way to go. We’re a young company and we just keep learning and wanting to be better every year. But if I look back at 2023, and let’s say this is the last day of the year, if I look back, we did what we could and we did our best with our restaurant partners and they did their best for us, and for the consumers at the end of it, I think, there is a Heart Full of Gratitude.
What message do you have for Swiggy’s restaurant partners?
I want to send two or three simple messages and these are messages to myself as much as for them. India is just starting out right, I feel that we are at the cusp of a multi decadal opportunity, in terms of the food and restaurant business, the kind of restaurants which can prosper. So chains which feel they are large, ten years from now will become gigantic. We are starting out, that’s message number one. Second I think, the basics and core remains the same. So an off-task question is what can we do better and while we have a bunch of things we can do better, from the restaurant partner side, it’s just that good food never goes out of fashion. Delighting the consumers whether you are a cloud kitchen, a fine dining restaurant or a small cafe, will never go out of fashion. Ratings and reviews will always be around. So while the world is becoming more and more complicated, some things remain the same and it’s important to never let that go. And third is, I do believe that we are settling into a nice rhythm of working with each other. Knowing that every ecosystem player is here for the long run and you know, like in any any any relationship, there will be testing times. But I do feel that 9 out of 10 times, we sit down with partners, understand what they want and hopefully be able to deliver what we are supposed to.
Tell us about the Heart Full of Gratitude Campaign.
No, we have a Heart Full of Gratitude everyday. I feel blessed to be a part of the company, part of the ecosystem, part of serving millions of consumers along with our partners. But this is the end of the year. 1st January rolls in after 31st of December but there is something to be said about the calendar year. This is the thing we started last year and we just wanted to build on it, for the relationship, for serving the consumers, partners, innovation, and good food as a small token of appreciation from our side. This is something I enjoyed seeing a lot more since it is personalised this time. It talks about the dishes, what kind of consumers they serve. So if you look at it, hopefully it brings a smile to your face, as it did when I saw some samples for a few of the partners. So our heart is full of gratitude, not just at the end of the year, but everyday. Ah, and thank you for what you do for us, and what you do for our consumers, day in and day out. We love it.
Looking back at 2023, what do you feel about the strides Swiggy has made in respect to the Food Marketplace?
So do I feel we made some strides last year? Yes. Do I feel we are anywhere close to where we can be? I never feel like that. So, I do feel, and it is also the function of the market herein. The function of, you know I probably last year or so I must have travelled to 35-40 cities and every city has a different texture, has a different food culture. But yet, things are common. Digitalisation is common, consumer needs are fairly common right, so I genuinely feel that, we are never settled, we never want to stop what we are building, we always want to feel like a young, small company which is trying to become better everyday. And that’s the mindset at least I’m rolling into December and in January as we end the year and rolling into January, that’s how I feel.
