CEO Ankush Grover received the largest allocation of 17.09 lakh options, valued at Rs 114.51 crore. Co-founder Jaydeep Barman was granted 4.27 lakh options worth Rs 28.63 crore, while Piyush Kakkad, Soumyadeep Barman and Ankur Sharma received 1.34 lakh options each, valued at approximately Rs 8.95 crore per person.

A substantial portion of Grover’s allocation appears to be linked to performance milestones as the company works towards profitability and explores a potential public listing.

The ESOP approval comes as Rebel Foods reports improved financial performance. In FY26, the company’s operating revenue increased 20% to Rs 1,951.6 crore, while its losses narrowed 16.3% to Rs 281.8 crore.

The company has raised nearly $803 million from investors, including Peak XV Partners, Coatue Management, Qatar Investment Authority and LightBox. As it continues to expand its business, Rebel Foods is also focusing on improving financial performance and building a path towards sustainable profitability.

The company’s ability to sustain revenue growth, reduce losses and achieve consistent profitability will be key as it evaluates a potential IPO.

The post Rebel Foods Approves Rs 170 Crore ESOPs for Co-founders appeared first on Business of Food.

The partnerships span two high-volume food categories in Delhi NCR: vegetarian North Indian cuisine and biryani. Vegorama Group, which operates Punjabi Angithi, is BSE-listed and generates a significant share of its revenue through online delivery, making it a relevant example of a scaled restaurant business building its direct channel.

Through fastrr Identity and fastrr Signals, the brands will be able to identify high-intent and returning customers, while flagging potential RTO and COD risks before an order is placed. Fastrr Ads will enable performance campaigns optimised for delivered orders, while WhatsApp tools will help recover abandoned orders and send personalised offers and reorder reminders.

Shiprocket Quick’s multi-partner rider network will support hyperlocal delivery from individual outlets, with live tracking and a target delivery time through direct channels. It also includes influencer-led campaigns for Vegorama Group, packaging and design support for both brands, and plans to explore direct-to-consumer food products through their own websites and quick-commerce platforms.

Speaking on the expansion, Gaurav Mangla, CEO – Ads and Checkout, Shiprocket, said, “The next phase of growth in food commerce lies in building lasting customer relationships that translate into repeat business for them. For restaurants, every order is an opportunity to build familiarity, understand what customers value and give them a reason to return. We believe brands should have the ability to build that relationship directly, rather than have it mediated entirely by third-party platforms. This is the opportunity we see in food commerce, and one we are working with our partners to unlock. Fastrr by Shiprocket brings together the capabilities needed to support this journey, while helping restaurant businesses strengthen their digital presence and explore new avenues for growth.”

Deepak Chadha, Founder, Punjabi Angithi Vegorama Group, said, “As a delivery-focused restaurant business, we are constantly looking at ways to evolve how we serve our customers and expand our presence beyond our physical outlets. Our association with Fastrr by Shiprocket will support our digital growth through new marketing initiatives and a stronger online ordering experience. We also see an opportunity to explore new food products and formats that can help us reach customers in more ways, building on the foundation of our existing restaurant business.”

Praveen Valmiki, Founder, Bikkgane Biryani said, “In a category as competitive as biryani, the experience around the food is an important part of how a brand stands out. From discovering the menu to placing an order and receiving it at the doorstep, every touchpoint shapes how customers experience the brand. Our association with Fastrr by Shiprocket allows us to strengthen our digital ordering experience and create a more consistent journey for customers choosing Bikkgane Biryani.”

fastrr by Shiprocket plans to expand its food-commerce offering to more restaurant chains, quick-service restaurants and cloud kitchens, while exploring adjacent categories such as bakeries, desserts, beverages and packaged foods. Its roadmap includes food-specific features such as menu-aware checkout, loyalty programmes, reorder nudges and peak-hour delivery allocation.

The post fastrr by Shiprocket Forays Into Food Commerce with Restaurant Partnerships appeared first on Business of Food.

At Zepto, these insights are central to building and expanding packaged food categories. Rakesh Hande, Senior Category Manager, Zepto, believes the sector is still evolving, having witnessed significant growth over the past 3-4 years. From identifying products that resonate with consumers to balancing quality, pricing and regional preferences, he explains how quick-commerce is shaping category development and creating new opportunities for food brands. 

“Zepto operates across multiple cities and stores, so customer feedback and experience play a very important role in understanding the category. For packaged food products, the key is to onboard the right products with the right quality and pricing. Consumer feedback is critical in identifying what works. This is also relevant for categories such as spices and seasonings, which have traditionally been relatively small but have gained significant traction with the growth of quick-commerce,” he says.

The shift in quick-commerce is also creating new opportunities for FMCG brands, but it also requires them to rethink how they approach consumers across quick-commerce, modern trade, e-commerce and traditional retail. Hande explains convenience is a key factor driving the growth of quick-commerce, which has expanded significantly over the past three years.

“If a customer needs something immediately, they can order it and receive it within minutes,” Hande adds, highlighting how the channel has changed the way consumers shop for groceries.

From Planned to Impulse 

Unlike traditional grocery shopping, where consumers typically buy products as part of planned pantry stocking, quick-commerce encourages purchases driven by immediate needs. Hande notes brands must understand how to acquire customers, develop consumer preferences and present their products through the right combination of quality and variety.

Innovation Starts with Consumers 

As FMCG brands introduce new products, flavours, formats and formulations, understanding consumer preferences remains essential to commercial success. Innovation, Hande asserts, must begin with identifying what customers want rather than simply adding new products to the market.

“The key question is which brands and products customers prefer,” he says, emphasising the importance of understanding consumer requirements before developing new offerings.

The Next Growth Frontier 

Regional preferences also play a significant role in shaping product development, particularly in a diverse market such as India. Taste preferences can differ across the northern, southern, eastern and western regions, making it important for brands to account for local requirements when building their portfolios.

Quick-commerce is expected to play a significantly larger role in packaged food retail over the next three years, as competition intensifies and consumer shopping habits continue to evolve. With multiple players, including Blinkit, Instamart, Zepto, Amazon Now, Flipkart Minutes, and BigBasket, operating in the space, the channel is poised to become increasingly important for brands looking to reach consumers.

Hande expects quick-commerce to increase its share of the market from an estimated 8–9% currently to around 25–30% over the next three years. “Understanding customers and responding to their needs will be the most important priority for brands going forward,” he remarks, highlighting consumer understanding as a key factor in driving customer acquisition and retention.

As the channel expands, brands will need to develop a stronger understanding of consumer segments and buying patterns to remain competitive. This includes identifying customer preferences, improving how they serve shoppers and ensuring products meet expectations around taste and overall satisfaction.

The post Beyond Speed: Zepto on the Changing Food Consumer appeared first on Business of Food.

NOICE currently works with 75 food entrepreneurs across India. Its portfolio includes fresh breads, paneer, batters, regional snacks, sweets, beverages and pantry staples. The brand has reached more than 9 million customers within a year of its launch, with products across more than 46 categories.

As part of its expansion, NOICE plans to add powdered spices, staples, cereals and dairy alternatives to its portfolio. The brand is also increasing its manufacturing requirements, with a focus on working with partners that meet the FSSC 22000 food safety standard.

To help food entrepreneurs increase their production capacity, develop new products and improve quality, Swiggy Financial Services, operated by Swiggy Neocap, has launched a financing programme. Eligible NOICE partners can access credit of up to ₹5 crore through partnerships with SIDBI, Axis Bank and InCred Finance. The programme has already disbursed ₹2 crore in its first month and aims to support more than 100 entrepreneurs by the end of 2026.

NOICE said that one in every 10 Instamart baskets currently contains one of its products. According to the company, customers who buy NOICE products place orders 1.5 times more frequently and have a retention rate that is 10 percentage points higher than the platform average.

The post Instamart’s NOICE Plans 500-SKU Expansion appeared first on Business of Food.

Ownly is now available across Hyderabad and operates on a zero-commission model, meaning restaurants do not pay platform fees. Customers are charged a delivery fee based on the cost of the service. Rapido Captains will support food deliveries in the city alongside their existing mobility services. The company said the model will provide Captains with additional earning opportunities by allowing them to take up food delivery orders.

Aravind Sanka, Co-Founder of Rapido and Ownly, said, “Hyderabad is one of the most passionate food cities in the country, especially when it comes to biryani, and that makes it a natural next home for Ownly. Our model is simple: restaurants keep what they earn, customers pay only for their food and delivery, and nobody pays for anything in between. Bengaluru showed us that people respond to honesty in pricing, and we expect Hyderabad to hold us to it just as closely. It felt right to begin here with our captains, because they are the ones who carry this promise to every doorstep in the city.”

As part of the Hyderabad launch, Ownly hosted an event for Rapido Captains, bringing together delivery partners from across the city. Telugu actor Nani also attended the gathering and interacted with members of the Captain community.

The company said its Captain network will remain central to Ownly’s expansion as it scales operations and reaches more customers in Hyderabad. The launch adds another player to the city’s food delivery market as Rapido continues to expand beyond its core mobility business.

The post Rapido’s Ownly Enters Hyderabad Food Delivery Market appeared first on Business of Food.

Ankush Grover, Co-Founder and Global CEO, Rebel Foods, said, “FY26 marks an important step forward for Rebel Foods, with growth and profitability increasingly coming together. As our platform scales, we are seeing the benefits of stronger engagement, higher store productivity and operating leverage flow through to the business.”

Rebel Foods currently serves consumers across 120+ cities and operates multiple food brands and categories using a common infrastructure. According to the company, this model lets it serve different consumer occasions while expanding its store network and using its assets better.

During FY26, improvements in store operations, technology and supply chain helped the company increase productivity and improve its margins. The company said stronger consumer engagement also supported its financial performance.

The post Rebel Foods Cuts Net Loss by 19% in FY26 appeared first on Business of Food.

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PackSwitch is designed to bridge that gap by providing restaurants with an accessible informational resource to speed up adoption of sustainable food delivery packaging.

It provides:

• Practical information on sustainable packaging materials
• Packaging recommendations tailored to different food categories
• Information regarding a network of 100+ verified suppliers across India

Speaking at the launch, Prashanth Prakash, Founding Partner, Accel India, noted, “The responsibility of protecting our cities from plastic pollution rests with every one of us. Sustainable food delivery packaging adoption by restaurants often stalls at good intentions because knowledge, awareness and products are not aligned. With Zomato’s PackSwitch initiative, restaurants now have a tool that simplifies decision-making around sustainable packaging. I hope to see more restaurants use PackSwitch to transition away from plastic packaging paving the way for greener cities.”

Anjalli Ravi Kumar, Chief Sustainability Officer, Eternal Limited, shared, “Sustainability is embedded in how we do business across Eternal companies. Over the last two years, we’ve invested in building consumer awareness through Zomato’s Plastic-Free Future program, which awards restaurants a ‘low plastic packaging tag’ on the app to recognise them for moving away from plastic to pack main dishes. PackSwitch focuses on building restaurant awareness through dish-led sustainable packaging information. Now the question – what sustainable material can I pack biriyani in? becomes a much easier one for restaurants to answer and find solutions for.”

To mark the launch, Zomato brought together restaurant partners, packaging manufacturers, sustainability practitioners and investors for an immersive exhibition on the future of food delivery packaging. Curated by Shashwat Das and Jyoti Shrestha, the centrepiece exhibit set out eight sustainable materials and a range of coatings used in the category. Through exhibits and expert-led discussions, attendees explored how these materials perform in delivery operations, their commercial feasibility, and their environmental trade-offs.

As part of the supplier directory made available on PackSwitch, restaurants and other interested users may also explore the sustainable packaging solutions provided by Hyperpure, Eternal’s B2B supply platform serving 100,000+ restaurant outlets across India.

Restaurants already using lower-plastic packaging can be identified through the ‘low plastic packaging’ tag on the Zomato app and discovered using the filter of the same name, making it easier for customers to support businesses adopting more sustainable packaging practices.

The post Zomato Launches PackSwitch to Help Restaurants Shift to Sustainable Food Packaging appeared first on Business of Food.

As part of the collaboration, District will offer Haldiram’s greater visibility on its consumer platform while helping connect digital discovery with in-store dining experiences.

The partnership will also introduce a customer rewards programme, under which customers will receive District Dine Coins equivalent to 20% of their order value. The Dine Coins will be valid for 14 days, encouraging customers to make repeat visits to Haldiram’s outlets.

According to Haldiram’s, the partnership aims to create value for both customers and the business by combining technology, data, and strategic partnerships to enhance the overall dining experience.

The company said the initiative will help generate incremental customer visits while strengthening engagement and long-term loyalty. The collaboration is also expected to provide Haldiram’s with an opportunity to leverage District’s growing consumer base and digital reach.

The post Haldiram’s Partners with District to Drive Footfall and Strengthen Omnichannel Growth appeared first on Business of Food.

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