Zomato and Swiggy commission survival guide.

Delivery platforms are not the enemy. They are a tax. Pay it on the orders they bring, but never let them own the customer, set your prices, or become your only channel. Here is how I work through it with hospitality brands.

1. Read your platform report like a P&L

Most owners look at the order count and the payout. Pull the commission line, the cancellations, the discount contributions and the ad spend on the platform itself. That is where 8 to 12 percent of your delivery revenue quietly disappears.

2. Engineer the menu for delivery margin

Your delivery menu is not your dine-in menu. Travel-poor items, low-margin combos and heavy, leak-prone dishes should be reworked or removed. Build combos that protect margin after commission, and price for the delivered cost, not the plate cost.

3. Treat the listing like a storefront

Imagery, item descriptions, tags and category order all move discoverability. A clean, well-photographed listing with the right tags outranks a better kitchen with a lazy one. MK Studios shoots delivery imagery in-house so it is built for the app, not borrowed from the dine-in shoot.

4. Build your rating, relentlessly

On Zomato and Swiggy, rating is the single biggest lever on visibility. A steady climb from 3.9 to 4.3 does more for orders than most ad spend. Build a review ask into every delivery, follow up on problems fast, and watch the algorithm reward you.

5. Own a direct channel

Every delivery order is a guest you paid to acquire and then handed to the platform. Build a direct ordering link, a WhatsApp list, a loyalty hook, so the next time that guest is hungry, they come to you and you keep the commission.

6. Spend on the platform on purpose

In-platform ads and visibility boosts can work, but only when they are aimed at order hours, measured against incremental orders, and switched off when they are not paying back. Treat them like any other ad: tracked, ruthless, on a short leash.

The brands that survive delivery commissions are the ones that use the platforms for reach and build their own channel for retention. If you want a read on where your delivery margin is leaking, send me your Zomato and Swiggy links on WhatsApp and I will tell you what I would fix first.