“The brand was not working as well as expected in Delhi-NCR. The company tried several different models of running it independently, through third-party arrangements but a hard decision was taken to shut it down in the region,” a source aware of the development said.
Another source said Swiggy was attempting to become operationally fitter and was cutting down on some of its experimental activities, while indicating that shutting down The Bowl Company in Delhi-NCR was unlikely to have a major impact.
In its half-yearly earnings, Dutch internet giant Prosus said earlier this month that Swiggy contributed $212 million of its almost $3 billion food-tech revenue for FY22. Prosus owns a 33% stake in Bengaluru-based Swiggy. It also said its share of Swiggy’s losses increased to $100 million during FY22, “driven by expansion into quick commerce”.
For the financial year-ended March 2021, Swiggy saw its consolidated revenue from operations drop 26.6% year-on-year to Rs 2,547 crore, even as the company diversified beyond food to push its quick commerce business. Its net losses shrunk almost 59% from the previous fiscal to Rs 1,616 crore.
The online food aggregator had first piloted The Bowl Company back in 2017 in Bengaluru, where it started offering a select menu for the first time through its own cloud kitchen, pitting itself against pure cloud kitchen players like FreshMenu. The launch of its own brand of cloud kitchens also attracted ire from Swiggy’s restaurant partners.
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Confirming the development, a Swiggy spokesperson said: “The expansion of The Bowl Company in Delhi/NCR was an experiment we ran to bring new food experiences to users. This experiment has led to its due learnings, even as we focus on operational excellence for the brand. We will continue to invest and grow The Bowl Company in cities like Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, where the brand is well-loved and growing”.
In addition to The Bowl Company, Swiggy also operates other cloud kitchen brands such as Homely and Breakfast Express, and is piloting more labels including Soul Rasa and Stuffed. Apart from food delivery, Swiggy operates quick-commerce business under the Instamart brand, and intra-city delivery service Genie.
In May, Swiggy acquired dining out platform Dineout from Times Internet in an all-stock deal worth around $120 million. Times Internet is the digital media arm of Bennett, Coleman and Company Ltd (Times Group), which publishes ET.
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