India’s food delivery market has another challenger. Food-tech startup Easy Cater has announced the national rollout of its hyperlocal food delivery platform, positioning transparency and lower costs for restaurants at the centre of its business model.
The company has chosen Vadodara as its first operating market before expanding city by city across the country.
The platform, which went live on 17 June, has already crossed 33,500 app downloads within weeks of launch. Easy Cater has also begun onboarding restaurant partners in Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur, Indore and Nagpur as it prepares for wider expansion into India’s growing Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities.
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Focusing on fair pricing for restaurants and customers
Easy Cater says it wants to address a long-standing concern among restaurant owners over high commissions charged by established food delivery platforms. The startup claims its commission-light model allows restaurants to keep online prices closer to their in-store menus while reducing hidden mark-ups for customers.
According to the company, the strategy is designed to improve restaurant profitability without passing additional costs to consumers. The platform is also introducing a loyalty programme that rewards users with 1 reward point per rupee spent.
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Expansion strategy built around local food culture
Instead of launching across India at once, Easy Cater plans to expand one city at a time. The company says this approach will allow it to build stronger local restaurant networks before entering new markets.
The app includes several location-specific features, including Local Legends for well-known heritage restaurants, Street Food for local vendors, Value Picks featuring meals priced between ₹25 and ₹150, Women Owned for businesses led by women entrepreneurs, and Flavour 52, which highlights a different regional taste every week.
Easy Cater says more than 1,000 restaurant partners have already joined the platform in Vadodara, providing an early base for its expansion plans.
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India’s food delivery market continues to expand
The company is entering the market as food delivery demand continues to shift beyond the country’s largest metropolitan cities. Industry estimates cited by Easy Cater suggest that Tier-1 and Tier-2 markets now account for nearly 48% of India’s food delivery orders, while the overall market could reach USD 270 billion by 2034.
Easy Cater’s launch reflects the growing competition in India’s food-tech sector, where startups are increasingly looking beyond price wars to focus on local businesses, transparent pricing and regional expansion.
As India’s food delivery market matures, platforms that can balance restaurant profitability, consumer pricing and regional expansion may find new opportunities outside the country’s biggest metro cities.
Samarjit Kaur is a journalist and communications professional covering technology & emerging digital trends. With a focus on clarity and context, she reports on developments shaping industries and governance. When not reporting, she chooses to plug-in and relax on her playlists and plan her next bucket-list trips!
