Zomato has quietly dipped its toes into the 15-minute food delivery game, turning up the heat in the ever-evolving world of quick food delivery. The service, now available in select locations, puts Zomato head-to-head with rivals like Swiggy's Bolt, Zepto, and Magicpin. If you're in Mumbai or Bangalore, you might already spot it on the app-no big announcement yet, just a soft launch to test the waters.

A new "15-minute delivery" tab has popped up in the app's explore section, featuring quick-to-prepare and ready-to-eat dishes from nearby restaurants. Like Swiggy's Bolt, Zomato is keeping things local, limiting deliveries to restaurants within a two-kilometer radius. After all, when speed's the name of the game, every meter counts.

This move is Zomato's ticket into the booming quick commerce trend. It comes on the heels of Blinkit's expansion into the food space with "Bistro," a service promising to deliver healthy juices, snacks, and meals faster than you can change your mind about what you want to eat.

Meanwhile, Swiggy's Bolt, which launched in October 2024, already fulfills 5% of its food delivery orders through this lightning-fast option. Not to be left behind, Zepto is doubling down on speed with Zepto Cafe, a dedicated app for ultra-fast deliveries. Even Ola is in on the race, rolling out its 10-minute food delivery service, Ola Dash, across India after starting in Bengaluru. The competition's fierce, but Zomato clearly wants a piece of the pie.

Other big players are circling the quick delivery market too. Reliance had hinted at entering the scene with JioMart's sub-30-minute delivery promise, and Myntra is reportedly piloting its own 30-minute service in Bengaluru for select brands. Seems like everyone wants to be fast these days!

As for Zomato, its shares were trading at ₹247.05, down 2.16% on the BSE on Wednesday as of 9:45 am. Maybe the market's still digesting the news-or just waiting to see if 15-minute delivery becomes the next big thing.