Uber Eats focusses on aggressive expansion in India

Uber Eats, the food delivery unit of Uber, on Friday said it is focussing aggressively on expanding its presence in India, a market that is expected to become a USD 15 billion opportunity over the next few years.

The company, which competes with the likes of Zomato and Swiggy in India, said it has added thousands of restaurant partners across the 44 cities it operates in here.

"We are aggressively looking at expanding our presence in the country. 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," Uber Eats Head of Operations India and South Asia Bansi Kotecha told PTI.

He added that the company has "multiple thousands of partners across every single market" it is present in domestically.

Kotecha declined to comment on reports that Uber was looking at selling off the food delivery business in India, and was in discussions with multiple companies.

In the September 2019 quarter, Uber Eats' India business dragged down the food delivery arm's adjusted net revenue by 0.4 per cent, its CFO Nelson Chai had said.

Kotecha also said the food-tech industry is growing at a strong pace and is expected to reach USD 15 billion by 2023.

"It's a massive market, we are (all) still collectively scratching the surface of potential of the market. There is space for all the players to be around as long as you are relevant, there is merit. We are exponentially growing and aggressively expanding, so I'm not worried about how we are placed," he said.

Kotecha explained that there has been a shift in use cases with people moving from occasional ordering of dinner to now using delivery platforms for ordering breakfast, lunch and even snacks.

"That's the size of the market and if you look at the current penetration, we have a lot of mile to cover...we are focussing on our product and ops to make it happen," he said.

The company on Friday launched a new marketing campaign '#EatsNewEveryday' featuring 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.

"The campaign aims to create awareness and generate brand love amongst consumers, especially youth who're 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. With Uber Eats, we hope to make this easy for them so they can access great food choices every day," Kotecha said.