Ola joins the ONDC bandwagon to deliver food

Its last attempt was in 2022 when it was planning to integrate its cloud kitchen business with 10-minute grocery delivery.

In what will be its fourth attempt at food delivery, mobility unicorn Ola has joined the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to provide food delivery services. While the company has been piloting the feature on its ride-hailing app since August, it has also now become visible to some users as well.

The company has been testing the feature for over a month within its app for employees and a few users under the name 'Ola ONDC food', sources told Moneycontrol.

"This is big for Ola, this is likely to compete with Swiggy and others... This feature is not available for everyone, only a handful of users for now and is likely to be open for all, " said an industry source aware of the development.

Ola could not be reached out immediately for response. The story will be updated with details after the company responds.

Its last attempt was in 2022 when it was planning to integrate its cloud kitchen business with 10-minute grocery delivery.

The first attempt was in July 2015 when the ride-hailing startup launched a standalone online grocery store in Bengaluru, and a food delivery app in March the same year.

Less than nine months later, it shut both Ola Store and Ola Foods without going into detail. However, sources told Moneycontrol that Ola will not launch a separate delivery app.

"Collaborating with ONDC is a wise choice for Ola. They may noy roll out a separate app, " The person quoted above said.

Reports also suggest that Ola’s chief executive officer (CEO) Bhavish Aggarwal, while addressing the India Internet Day event held on August 24 in Bengaluru, said that the company was planning to join the state-backed network.

ONDC's has been onboarding players within the mobility business. It has an open mobility initiative and is expected to benefit customers by enabling them to book rides from their favourite apps and integrating various modes of transportation, including metro, auto, and buses. Namma Yatri, which was launched by Juspay Technologies in partnership with Bengaluru drivers joined the initiative recently.