Uber Eats has reaffirmed its commitment to establishing a sizable presence in India, a market that is expected to become a US$15bn opportunity over the next few years.
The food delivery division of Uber competes directly with market leaders Zomato and Swiggy, with Amazon looking to join the race by launching its own food aggregator before the end of the year.
Bansi Kotecha, Head of Operations, India and South Asia, Uber Eats told reporters that the company is “aggressively looking at expanding our presence in the country”, adding that it has added thousands of restaurant partners across the 44 cities it currently operates in.
“India is fundamental to Uber’s growth and we have a stable and massive rides business and we don’t see a reason why we can’t capitalise that business and grow Eats exponentially, which we have done over the last one year and we continue to do in this and next year as well,” he said
In line with these ambitions, it recently launched a new marketing campaign ‘#EatsNewEveryday’ featuring actors Alia Bhatt and Dulquer Salmaan. The one-month campaign targets consumers between the ages of 18-25 years and will be visible across various media channels.
Kotecha explained that the campaign aims to create awareness and generate brand love amongst consumers, especially youth who are looking for convenience and want to maximise their experiences on the platform.
“We know our consumers love variety and are very excited to try new cuisines and restaurants,” he said. “With Uber Eats, we hope to make this easy for them, so they can access great food choices every day.”
The renewed focus on garnering a larger presence in India comes as Uber’s most recent earning call shows the Indian operations having a detrimental impact on the company’s overall financials.
In the September 2019 quarter, Uber Eats’ India business dragged down the food delivery arm’s adjusted net revenue by 0.4%, according to its CFO, Nelson Chai.
According to regulatory disclosures made in India, the company is expected to make a loss of US$107.6m from August 2019 to December 2019; a valuation report by KPMG affiliate BSR says Uber is targeting profitability for UberEats India by 2026.
Sourced from Economic Times, Inc42; additional content by WARC staff
