With this approval, Zomato is all set to re-enter the grocery delivery market which experts say could shoot up the competition even as rival Swiggy continues to expand its grocery service. The Competition Commission of India on August 13 approved Zomato's acquisition of an approximately 9.3% stake each in Grofers India and Hands on Trades. While the former is engaged in online grocery delivery in over 35 cities across India, the latter is engaged in business-to-business wholesale trading of groceries and contract manufacturing of food products. The two biggest food delivery platforms in India, Zomato and Swiggy, are quickly making headway in the grocery delivery segment as well. This latest investment by Zomato, which recently made a blockbuster public market debut, will help the platform better compete with Swiggy's Instamart, which has already begun making gains in many cities. "The funding is not only expected to give Grofers the much-needed backing to fight competition that is only getting bigger, but may also be a beginning of Zomato’s partnership with Grofers, which may culminate into a strategic partnership," Rishi Anand, Partner, DSK Legal told MediaNama. Zomato's re-entry into grocery delivery Zomato first indicated an interest in the grocery delivery market in April 2020 when it entered this space through Zomato Market, but the company exited the space in June the same year. However, in its red herring prospectus, filed at the time of its initial public offering in July 2021, Zomato said that it was in the process of rolling out a grocery delivery…
