Indian ride-hailing giant, Ola – which saw its valuation cut to $2 billion by Vanguard earlier this month, is jumping into the quick commerce game — more specifically into the quick food delivery space. It today announced ‘Dash’, a 10 minute quick delivery service in the food space — a model that is highly debated, specially over what quality of food one can get served in 10 minutes. Along with this, it has also announced nationwide expansion of its food services ‘Ola Food’ with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government initiative to provide an open network for exchanging goods and services digitally.
At present, the Dash service is being launched in Bengaluru,. With the government-run Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) – gaining massive popularity among startups and major conglomerates like Adani and Reliance – Ola is now trying to leverage its combined scale, efficiency, and cost savings.
Founded in 2010 and becoming a unicorn in 2015, Ola Consumer (previously ‘Ola Cabs’) has announced plans to deploy 100,000 electric two-wheelers over the next two years as part of its efforts to drive electrification in ride-hailing. Interestingly, this announcement comes at a time when India’s consumer regulator, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), is investigating (formally initiated on November 6, 2024) Ola Electric – debuted with IPO in August this year – over unresolved customer complaints. However, in its defense, Ola Electric claimed it had resolved 99.1% of the reported complaints to customers’ satisfaction.
Ola Food Expansion Plan
Speaking about Ola Food, this latest expansion will increase its operational presence to 100 cities. Backed by SoftBank, Tiger Global, Matrix Partners (now Z47), Temasek, and more, Ola Consumer – which neared 1 lakh daily orders on ONDC in August this year – is also looking to boost these numbers with subscription-free deals, offering 10 times more OlaCoins and other benefits.
If this is not enough, Ola Consumer’s new initiative – Dash – will offer freshly prepared food delivered in just 10 minutes. The company also claims that Dash delivers from a curated selection of nearby restaurants. With a pilot launch in Bengaluru, the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company plans to expand this service to other cities in the coming months.
“India’s quick commerce landscape is at a pivotal moment, driven by technology and ever-evolving consumer needs. With the Pan-India expansion of Ola Food and the launch of Dash in Bengaluru, on ONDC, we’re offering a faster, more affordable, and seamless food delivery experience. This expansion reflects our commitment to democratising commerce, leveraging ONDC’s open network to make quality services accessible to all.”, Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman & Managing Director of Ola Consumer said while commenting on the latest development.