Startup and VC Ecosystem Updates | Issue# 9 [December 17, 2024]
What?
Swiggy has introduced a new feature, Swiggy Scenes, as part of its Dineout offering. The feature allows users to book events (including curated dining options), parties, and live music at partner restaurants in Delhi and Bengaluru. Currently, over 50 events are available in each city. This is Swiggy’s first major launch for its out-of-home consumption vertical in the past year, which includes its events and experiences platform Swiggy SteppinOut and restaurant reservation service Dineout. More about Scenes in this coverage by Inc42.
New Offerings
In 2024, Swiggy introduced several new services leading up to its IPO and beyond, aimed at ensuring sustainable growth and profitability. These include its premium invite-only membership programme One BLCK, 10-minute food delivery service Bolt, 15-minute snack delivery offering Cafe, Swiggy Seal for enhancing food quality and hygiene standards, XL EV fleet for handling large orders, and more. Scenes is Swiggy’s effort to strengthen its foothold in the events and ticketing market. The feature offers users a seamless and integrated experience, removing the need to switch between separate apps for food delivery and dining and entertainment planning.
Performance
Swiggy’s out-of-home consumption vertical generated INR 60 Cr in Q2 FY25, a 71% increase from INR 35 Cr in Q2 FY24. Losses for the vertical dropped 79% to INR 9.26 crore in Q2 FY25 from INR 44.34 Cr in the year-ago period, with the adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of its GOV improving to -1.3% from -8.8%. Swiggy expects the vertical to reach EBITDA break-even in FY25. Overall, the foodtech major reduced its consolidated net loss by 4.78% to INR 625.53 Cr in Q2 FY25, while revenue grew 30% to INR 3,601.45 Cr from INR 2,763.33 Cr in Q2 FY24.
Competition with District
Earlier this year, Zomato acquired Paytm’s events and movie ticketing subsidiaries in a bid to bolster its play in the events and ticketing segment. Additionally, in November, the company rolled out District, a dedicated app for its ticketing operations. Scenes can be considered a direct competitor to District. While Scenes is currently focused on live events, parties, and music, District enables users to book tickets for movies, events, and enjoy dining offers. In November, Zomato raised INR 8,500 crore through its first Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) to strengthen its events and ticketing, quick commerce, and food delivery businesses. The foodtech giant’s Going Out vertical recorded a 214% revenue growth, increasing to INR 154 Cr from INR 49 Cr in Q2 FY24. Like its competitor Swiggy, Zomato has recently launched a host of new features that reflect its commitment to enhancing convenience for its users while driving long-term value for its partners. More here. Apart from District, Swiggy’s offering competes with events and ticketing giant BookMyShow.
Thoughts
Major players like Swiggy and Zomato are competing fiercely to provide users with enhanced features that prioritize convenience. The extensive food delivery network and strong customer trust of these giants have already established a solid foundation for entering the events and ticketing segment. Unlike Zomato, which offers tickets for events through District, Swiggy offers an integrated experience for its food delivery and Instamart users who are interested in events and ticketing services. This could be beneficial, as users may prefer not to navigate multiple apps for services provided by the same company.
Additionally, Swiggy could perhaps also consider integrating movie and sports ticket bookings into Scenes to further strengthen the offering. In fact, we would love to see offerings like tickets for star-studded public movie promotions, as well as simpler events like stand-up comedy shows, managed through Scenes, which prioritizes user convenience.
With the growing demand for live concerts by Indian and international music artists, it could not have been a better time for Swiggy to launch Scenes. We would love to see more startups coming up with similar offerings to level up the competition, and we would not be surprised if more deep-pocketed players come into the play.
If you are interested to learn more, feel free to check out this coverage by Inc42.
Thank you for reading through! I genuinely hope you found the content useful. Feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] and share your feedback and thoughts to help us make it better for you next time.
Acronyms used in the blog that have not been defined earlier: (a) Venture Capital (VC), (b) Initial Public Offering (IPO), (c) Indian Rupee (INR), (d) Crore (Cr), (e) Financial Year (FY), (f) Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA), and (g) Gross Order Value (GOV).