Shiprocket takes on food delivery

Logistics and e-commerce enabler Shiprocket has expanded its AI-native commerce platform fastrr into the food commerce segment, announcing partnerships with Vegorama Group, which operates Punjabi Angithi, and Bikkgane Biryani on October 22, 2026. For startup funding in India, the move shows a logistics unicorn diversifying into the country's most contested consumer battleground — food delivery.

How the model works

fastrr's Identity and Signals tools help restaurants identify potential and returning customers, then drive repeat orders through targeted advertising, WhatsApp reminders and personalised offers — letting brands own the customer relationship instead of renting it from an aggregator. Deliveries run on the Shiprocket Quick network, which includes Ola, Porter, Borzo and Shadowfax Local, with live tracking, uniform pricing across partners and no surge fees at rates starting from ₹10 per km.

"We believe brands should have the ability to build that relationship directly, rather than have it mediated entirely by third-party platforms," said Gaurav Mangla, CEO, Ads and Checkout at Shiprocket. The economics are brutal: aggregator commissions, taxes, discounts and promotional costs can consume up to 40% of an order's value, and a December 2025 NCAER study found average aggregator commissions rose from 9.6% in 2019 to 24.6% in 2023.

What comes next

Shiprocket plans to extend the offering to more restaurant chains, quick-service restaurants and cloud kitchens, and is exploring categories such as bakeries, desserts, beverages and packaged foods, with features including menu-based checkout, loyalty programmes, reorder reminders and peak-hour delivery allocation. It joins a crowded direct-ordering field alongside DotPe, uEngage, EatClub, Rebel Foods' EatSure and ONDC.

Why it matters for founders

The restaurant industry's 40% aggregator tax is now a proven startup opportunity — and Shiprocket is attacking it with infrastructure, not just software. For founders, the lesson is that repeat customers convert cheaper than acquired ones: any tool that turns an aggregator-discovered diner into a direct-ordering regular pays for itself. Watch this lane — if fastrr's model sticks, logistics players will keep moving up the commerce stack.