According to Inc42, in October 2022 NRAI said more than 900 dining outlets from over 400 brands in 13 Indian cities had sent delisting notices to Swiggy Dineout within two weeks, with about 2,000 more outlets likely to follow. Chains named as leaving over deep discounting included Mamagoto, Social, Smoke House Deli, Cafe Delhi Heights and The Beer Cafe.
What happened on Swiggy Dineout
Swiggy Dineout is the platform's dine-in programme, which gives guests discounts on their restaurant bills. In October 2022, Inc42 reported that restaurants were leaving it in large numbers, with deep discounting at the centre of the dispute.
The chains that left
Citing a YourStory report, Inc42 named several well-known cafés and restaurants from Delhi-NCR that had delisted from Swiggy Dineout:
- Cafe Delhi Heights
- Smoke House Deli
- Social
- The Beer Cafe
- Mamagoto
Three restaurant companies also deregistered: Indigo Hospitality; Simmering Foods and Restaurants; and Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality. Smoke House Deli and Social are both Impresario brands, and the group is run by Riyaaz Amlani.
How fast it spread, by NRAI's count
Inc42 quoted these figures from NRAI, the National Restaurant Association of India:
- More than 400 brands had sent delisting notices to Swiggy.
- Those brands covered more than 900 dining outlets.
- The outlets were spread across 13 cities in India.
- All of these notices were sent within two weeks.
- NRAI expected roughly 2,000 more outlets to follow.
These were the industry body's own numbers, stated publicly at the time, rather than a count published by Swiggy.
The complaint behind the exits
Inc42's report ties the exits to deep discounting. The objection was that discounts were being applied to dine-in bills without the restaurant fully controlling the terms. That meant giving money off to guests who might well have come in and paid full price anyway. The platform set how the discount worked, while the restaurant absorbed the cost.
What this means for your restaurant
- Before joining any dine-in discount programme, check who sets the discount level and terms, and whether you can change or pause them yourself.
- Estimate how many guests using the discount would have come in anyway and paid the full bill; on those covers, the discount comes straight out of your revenue.
- Delisting is an option restaurants have used: NRAI reported more than 900 outlets sending notices to Swiggy Dineout within two weeks in 2022.
Sources
This article summarises the reporting and guides listed above; the figures belong to those sources and are attributed in the text. Check anything that affects your business against your own platform agreements, payout statements and advisers.