Delivery disruptors: How 3PLs are rewriting the gig economy playbook

Zomato’s results for the quarter ended December 2024, released last Monday, made one thing clear: its B2C businesses are growing well. While its core food delivery business grew slower than it had forecast, the company’s top line grew 58%, year-on-year (YoY), reaching Rs 5,746 crore. Over half of this comes from food delivery (Zomato) and quick-commerce (Blinkit), contributing Rs 2,413 crore and Rs 1,399 crore, respectively. Zomato’s gross order value grew by 17% YoY, while Blinkit saw a 120% jump.

Driving this growth are 6.25 lakh monthly active riders. Gig workers are the lifeblood of all such delivery platforms, not just Zomato and Blinkit. As per government think tank Niti Aayog, India’s gig workforce is expected to expand from just 7.7 million in 2020-21 to 23.5 million by 2029-30.

Despite their importance, however, gig workers’ relationships with platforms have often been troubled. Whether it's Blinkit, Zomato, Swiggy, or even Urban Company, workers have protested repeatedly over the years over their working conditions and payouts. In one of the most significant strikes in the history of India’s burgeoning gig economy, more than 100 of Blinkit’s 400 dark stores were shut down in the Delhi-National Capital Region, one of its biggest markets, in 2023. Today, Blinkit operates over 1,000 dark stores.