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On 15 September, Swiggy rolled out its seventh app: Toing. For now, it’s live only in Pune. The promise is simple: affordable meals starting under ₹99, lower fees, and a faster ordering flow. At first glance, it looks like another budget play. But Toing may actually be Swiggy’s boldest experiment yet — a way to test new economics, new tech, and even new rules for India’s food delivery industry.
So what is Toing? It’s Swiggy’s latest standalone experiment, and its seventh app overall. Unlike the main Swiggy app, which lists everything from fine dining to late-night rolls, Toing focuses on meals under ₹150; like pizzas, biryanis, sandwiches, cakes, kebabs, all priced close to what you’d pay at the restaurant itself. The pitch is simple: no inflated online menu prices, no sneaky restaurant fees, a lighter platform fee, and faster ordering flows. Orders start at under ₹99, with delivery times capped at about 30 minutes. For students who live off Maggi and mom’s monthly bank transfers, that’s a big deal.
But why launch a whole separate app instead of adding a budget tab inside Swiggy?
For that, you need to understand the economics of food delivery. Every order has hidden line items; restaurant packaging, GST, platform fee, delivery fee. On Swiggy’s main app, these add-ons can turn a ₹189 meal into ₹210 or even ₹230. Toing cuts that down. It skips the restaurant packaging fee entirely, charges a smaller platform fee (₹12 vs ₹25), and keeps GST lower because of how the menu is structured. Net result: the same meal costs ~₹20–30 less on Toing than on Swiggy. And if you’re ordering multiple times a week, that difference compounds. It’s less about margins, more about convincing cash-strapped users that delivery can be affordable again.
Now, the bigger question: why Pune? Swiggy almost always tests products in Bengaluru, its home turf. This time, it skipped the obvious choice. Pune is younger, with a dense student population and a fresh-out-of-college workforce. Bengaluru is already saturated with delivery, but Pune has headroom to grow. By restricting Toing’s launch to just four or five areas, Swiggy can test whether affordability genuinely drives more orders, without cannibalising its main app too much.
If it works, expansion will likely follow to other education hubs like Hyderabad or Indore; rather than metros where the market is already mature.
There’s also a competitive undertone here.
Just last month, Rapido, the bike-taxi startup, launched its own food app called Ownly, with a nearly identical pitch — affordable, no-frills delivery for the lower-income, student-heavy segment. Swiggy is actually an investor in Rapido, but it is now in the process of selling its entire 12% stake, worth about ₹2,500 crore. That clears the way for head-to-head rivalry without conflicts of interest. Toing vs Ownly could be India’s next “budget delivery wars.”
And it’s not just Rapido.
Zomato is pushing Blinkit as a growth engine, while Swiggy has been experimenting with multiple “mini-apps.” Over the past year, it’s launched Snacc (canteen-style 10-minute food), Pyng (a services marketplace), Crew (a concierge app), Instamart (its quick commerce arm), and Dineout (for eating out reservations). Together with the main Swiggy app, Toing makes it seven.
This marks a pivot from the old “super app” dream of one mega platform housing everything; to a “super brands” approach where each product has its own app, identity, and audience. Why? Because cross-selling hasn’t really worked in India. People don’t remember to book plumbers and biryanis from the same tab. But they do remember a green-and-pink app that promises cheap meals.
Let’s pause for a moment and talk about the ₹99 store, because that’s where Toing really comes from. The ₹99 store on Swiggy’s main app was a way to curate budget combos: thalis, sandwiches, parathas; at a flat price. It picked up traction, but the offering was limited. Toing is like the ₹99 store’s grown-up cousin. Instead of a handful of cheap combos, it gives you a full directory of eateries in the ₹100–150 range. So it’s less of a gimmick and more of a parallel ecosystem, with restaurants onboarded specifically for price-sensitive customers.
For Swiggy, this is also about boosting its user base. In Q1FY25, it had about 14 million monthly transacting users. A year later, that’s up 16% to 16.3 million. Good growth, but not explosive. The company has said affordability is a key lever to unlock faster adoption. Rahul Bothra, Swiggy’s CFO, told analysts that initiatives like the ₹99 store were meant to “push the boundaries” on growth. Toing is the scaled-up version of that bet. If it succeeds, it could add millions of new users who might otherwise stick to hostel messes or walk-ins.
Of course, there are risks. Splitting into seven apps could confuse users or spread marketing budgets too thin. Toing might cannibalise Swiggy’s main app if regular users simply migrate to the cheaper platform. And affordability often comes at the cost of margins. For every ₹20 saved by the customer, someone, either Swiggy or the restaurant takes the hit. In a business already known for wafer-thin profitability, that’s not trivial.
But Swiggy seems to be betting that volume growth will offset thinner margins. If Toing can hook students early, they might stick around as paying users even after their incomes rise. Think of it as customer lifetime value engineering: win them cheap today, earn from them premium tomorrow. It’s the same logic that helped Ola launch “Micro” rides back in the day.
The cultural play here is just as important. Food delivery has become a middle-class lifestyle in India, but affordability has been a big barrier outside top metros. Students and Tier 2 professionals may love the idea of ordering in, but balk at the ₹40 in fees added to a ₹150 meal. Toing is Swiggy’s attempt to bridge that gap, and if it works, it could change how Indians think about the price of convenience.
In the end, Toing may look like just another app icon, but it’s really Swiggy’s way of asking a bigger question: can food delivery be made mass-market in India? With Rapido snapping at its heels, Zomato scaling its empire, and users hunting for bargains, the answer will define not just Swiggy’s growth but the shape of the industry itself.
So the next time a student in Pune orders a ₹120 biryani on Toing and skips the ₹40 in add-on fees, remember: it’s not just lunch. It’s Swiggy’s bet on the future of food delivery; one that could shape how, and how much, we all pay when hunger strikes.
FAQs
What is Swiggy’s Toing app?
Toing is a new standalone food delivery app from Swiggy that focuses on affordable meals priced under ₹150. It offers faster ordering, lower platform fees, and skips hidden charges like packaging fees to make delivery cheaper for users.
Where is Toing currently available?
Toing is currently live only in Pune. Swiggy has launched it in select areas of the city to test demand among students and young professionals before expanding to other locations.
How is Toing different from the main Swiggy app?
While the main Swiggy app lists everything from fine dining to fast food, Toing only features budget meals under ₹150. It has lower platform fees, no packaging charges, and faster delivery times compared to the main app.
Why did Swiggy launch Toing as a separate app?
Swiggy launched Toing separately to test new pricing, delivery economics, and user behaviour without affecting its main app. It wants to see if affordability can drive higher order volumes among price-sensitive users.
How much do meals cost on Toing?
Meals on Toing start at under ₹99 and usually range between ₹100–₹150. They are priced close to dine-in rates, with minimal add-on charges, making them more affordable than on Swiggy’s main platform.
Why did Swiggy choose Pune for Toing’s launch?
Swiggy chose Pune because it has a large student and early-career workforce, unlike saturated markets such as Bengaluru. It’s a cost-sensitive city with strong growth potential for budget food delivery.
How does Toing reduce delivery costs for users?
Toing removes restaurant packaging fees, charges a lower platform fee (₹12 vs ₹25 on Swiggy), and structures menus to lower GST. This brings down the final bill by ₹20–₹30 compared to the same order on Swiggy.
Who are Toing’s competitors?
Toing’s biggest rival is Ownly by Rapido, which also targets students with low-cost food delivery. It indirectly competes with Zomato, which is betting on Blinkit for growth in quick commerce.
What risks does Toing face?
Toing could confuse users with Swiggy’s many apps, cannibalise the main platform, and strain margins as it offers cheaper pricing. Thin profits and high marketing costs are potential risks if order volumes don’t scale up.
What is Swiggy’s long-term goal with Toing?
Swiggy aims to hook price-conscious users early, build loyalty, and grow its user base. If Toing succeeds, it could make food delivery more mass-market across India and eventually drive revenue from users as their spending power rises.
