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May
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Swiggy vs Eternal: Battle of the Delivery Titans
Swiggy vs Eternal: Battle of the Delivery Titans
Swiggy: Swiggy Limited is an Indian online food ordering and delivery company. Founded in 2014, Swiggy is headquartered in Bengaluru and operates in more than 580 Indian cities, as of July 2023.
Eternal: Eternal is an Indian online food ordering and delivery service owned by Eternal Limited created in 2008.
Performance Snapshot: Swiggy vs Eternal in FY25
Swiggy showed steady improvement in its food delivery business. Its EBITDA margin rose from 0.85% in Q1 FY25 to 2.89% in Q4. Eternal performed better in this segment. Its margin improved from 3.36% to 4.36% during the same period.
In quick commerce, Blinkit (owned by Zomato) saw early gains. Higher average order values and better realizations helped reduce losses. But heavy discounting in Q3 and Q4 affected performance. Realization dropped from 19.13% to 18.14%, leading to increased losses. Eternal acquired Paytm’s ticketing business in Q2 FY25. This boosted its realization from 7.49% in Q1 to 10.49% in Q4. However, losses in the segment also went up. Swiggy maintained a stable realization of 7.98% in this vertical.
In the supply chain space, Eternal’s Hyperpure performed well. It saw strong year-on-year growth. EBITDA losses reduced, showing better operational efficiency.
- Early market entry (2008) gave Eternal (Zomato) a head start in building stronger brand trust.
- Expanded faster into Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities – 750+ cities vs. Swiggy’s 580+.
- Aggressive acquisition strategy, exemplified by the acquisition of Blinkit.
- As a public company, Eternal has shown better financial discipline and a focus on profitability.
- Swiggy, being venture-capital-backed, has prioritized growth over profits.
- Standalone app model of Eternal aligns with Indian consumer preferences for specialized apps.
Despite rapid evolution in both companies, Eternal leads in market share and profitability due to these strategic advantages.