Food delivery giant Swiggy has unveiled its seventh app, Toing, aimed at affordable meal options for students and young professionals. With order prices typically ranging from ₹100–150, Toing enters a competitive space dominated by Zepto Cafe and Rapido’s Ownly.
Why Pune First?
Unlike previous launches in Bengaluru, Swiggy chose Pune as the testing ground for Toing. The city, with its large base of students and young professionals, represents a market segment that prioritizes affordability over variety. Toing is currently operational in Kothrud, Hinjewadi, Wakad, Aundh, and Pimple Saudagar.
What Toing Offers
Unlike Swiggy’s ₹99 Store, which lists budget-friendly items on the main app, and Snacc, a standalone quick-service app for canteen-style food, Toing focuses on small but complete meals such as mini-thalis, burgers, sandwiches, cakes, and desserts. Importantly, these offerings come from partner restaurants, unlike Zepto Cafe which relies on cloud kitchens.
Visually, Toing also differentiates itself with a green and pink colour scheme, targeting a younger audience, instead of Swiggy’s familiar orange branding.
Standing Out from Rivals
With Toing, Swiggy is directly challenging Zepto Cafe and Rapido’s Ownly. While Zepto Cafe appeals to workplace users with quick meals and beverages, Toing provides a broader range of restaurant-sourced dishes. Interestingly, the launch comes just as reports surfaced about Swiggy selling its stake in Rapido for ₹2,500 crore, highlighting the competitive strategies unfolding in India’s quick-service food sector.
Industry Impact
The launch underlines Swiggy’s strategy of creating niche standalone apps, similar to Instamart, to capture new user segments. Although Toing currently has no immediate plans for large-scale expansion, the move signals Swiggy’s intent to fortify its affordable food offerings before competitors capture the space.
Meanwhile, Swiggy’s stock reflected investor optimism, rising 1.13% on the BSE even as the Sensex slipped 0.15% on the same day.
