Safety kits, bi-weekly payments in Swiggy’s ‘package’ for restaurants

Online food ordering platform Swiggy has unveiled a string of measures to help restaurants restart business as the country gingerly begins to resume economic activity, lifting lockdown restrictions in a phased manner.

Along with safety kits, improved visibility for the business and better order volumes at subsidised rates, the Bengaluru-based company is also offering bi-weekly payments to improve cash flows for restaurants, which have seen their business take a massive hit during the lockdown. Earlier, payments were made once in 15 days.

“Building on these efforts, ensuring business revival, continuity and growth for restaurant partners will be absolutely crucial to enabling Swiggy and the industry overcome this challenging phase,” it said.

More than 40,000 restaurants had already availed the Jumpstart Package, the company said in a press note.

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Moneycontrol wrote on April 2 about a slew of measures adopted by Swiggy and rival Zomato to increase confidence of their restaurant partners as well as consumers ordering through these platforms.

Sharing details, Swiggy said it would provide safety grade packaging material and kits at discounts of up to 40 percent through the platform. Restaurants will also be given the option to upload videos and images of safety practices on customer application. The startup will also offer financing options through the Capital Assist Programme and quick onboarding process to help drive business.

Many of these offers had been running on Swiggy for some time. Now as more restaurants open up, the platform is trying to help them with a complete package.

“Swiggy’s Jumpstart Package has been strategically devised to achieve this by combining our learnings with clear insights from our research on present consumer needs,” said Paul Varghese, vice president, supply, at Swiggy.

The coronavirus pandemic had hit the restaurant business particularly hard, as social distancing and the fear of the virus keeps customers away. Though lockdown restrictions have been eased, restaurants are unlikely to see customers return in a hurry. Takeaways seem to be their best bet so far.