Rapido-owned food delivery platform Ownly has partnered with the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) to promote a zero-commission food delivery model, marking a fresh push towards improving restaurant profitability and creating a more transparent online food delivery ecosystem.
The two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the ‘Serving Bengaluru Together’ conference, where industry leaders outlined a shared vision of building a restaurant-first delivery platform focused on transparent pricing, sustainable business economics and enhanced consumer trust.
Under the partnership, NRAI will work with Ownly to evaluate and support the expansion of its zero-commission model while jointly exploring practices that improve restaurant margins and encourage price transparency for consumers.
“The restaurant industry has long sought greater transparency and predictability in food delivery,” said Sagar Daryani, President of NRAI and CEO & Co-founder of Wow! Momo. He said the collaboration would help assess the effectiveness of the commission-free model while gathering industry feedback to strengthen restaurant economics and customer experience.
Ownly said its model has gained encouraging traction since its citywide rollout in Bengaluru in March 2026, following a pilot launched in Koramangala and HSR Layout in August 2025. According to the company, partner restaurants have reported improved margins and higher repeat order rates, attributing the gains to the absence of commission-driven pricing distortions.
“The numbers since March reinforce what we believed from the outset—when hidden costs are removed, both diners and restaurants respond positively,” said Aravind Sanka, Head of Ownly. “Consumers trust transparent pricing, while restaurants no longer need to inflate menu prices to offset commissions.”
During the conference, industry stakeholders discussed how commission-free delivery models could enable restaurants to recover margins, offer more predictable cost structures and maintain price parity between online and offline menus. The discussions also highlighted the potential of value meals to expand online ordering without compromising restaurant profitability.
NRAI also reiterated three key expectations from food delivery platforms—transparent fee structures, stable commercial terms and collaborative data sharing—to support sustainable growth, particularly for small and independent restaurant operators.
The event featured participation from restaurant brands including Empire, Vidyarthi Bhavan and Amintiri, reflecting growing industry interest in alternative food delivery models as India’s online food delivery market continues to evolve.