Zomato partners with Ola to take on UberEats

Key highlights:

• Zomato announced that it is partnering with Ola
• People soon will be able to book an Ola to their favorite restaurant via Zomato
• You can also order from Zomato on Ola Play and pay with Ola Money

Just a few months after Uber entered the food ordering and delivery business with the launch of UberEats, Ola seems to be once again trying its hand at the food business. Albeit, this time it is through a partnership with food ordering and delivery app such as Zomato.

In a tweet Zomato announced that it is partnering with Ola and said that soon people will be able to book an Ola to their favorite restaurant via Zomato. It further said that you can also order from Zomato on Ola Play and pay with Ola Money.

The distance between you and good food is now even shorter! We're happy to announce our partnership with @Olacabs!  pic.twitter.com/a0yf8ipJgu

— Zomato India (@ZomatoIN) July 27, 2017

Uber launched UberEats in May this year and has been looking to push its food ordering and delivery services in the country.

Ola, on the other hand, had earlier in 2015 entered the food business with the launch of Ola Cafe. However, a year later it shut it down.

Ola has launched 'Ola Cafe' in June 2015 as a hyperlocal grocery and food delivery service in three cities – Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gurgaon.

While Ola Cafe scaled up in the first few months of its launch, it faced stiff competition from other food delivery companies such as Swiggy, TinyOwl and Zomato.

One of the reason for its demise was said to be that Ola Cafe offered a few particular items from a handful of restaurants unlike the whole menu in other competitor apps.

For Ola there is a fear that Uber diversifying into other segments would mean that it could go much ahead of the company. While it would not want to get into the business back again alone as it got its fingers burned the first time, this partnership reduces its exposure and risk to this highly competitive market.

While for Zomato, it significantly increases its reach, delivery and services offered to its customers. It had recently entered into the delivery business with its acquisition of delivery start-up Runnr for about $20 million in May.

ALSO READ:

• UberEATS: Did Uber learn any lessons from Ola Cafe?
• More and more restaurants are turning to food delivery start-ups
• Now, food delivery to wherever you are possible with UberEATS