"It’s giving Jai-Veeru": Swiggy on Zomato shout-out

Zomato and Swiggy may be rivals on the ground, but their social media banter always leave users in awe. In a surprising gesture of camaraderie, Zomato congratulated its arch-competitor Swiggy on a successful IPO debut, giving a public shoutout to the latest entrant in the stock market.

Zomato took to its social media platforms today, to share a goodwill message with Swiggy, captioned, "You and I in this beautiful world," underscoring the spirit of India’s food delivery scene. The post included an illustration of two men donning Zomato and Swiggy jackets, standing before the NSE building as Swiggy’s listing went live.

Swiggy responded with a playful “It’s giving Jai and Veeru” comment. This exchange follows Swiggy's strong debut on the stock market, which saw a warm welcome from investors.

The post struck a chord with many, garnering over 500 reposts and 7,000 likes on X within an hour, as it celebrated the spirit of mutual respect between industry players.

Swiggy and Zomato, known for their playful social media banter, have often sparked a buzz with exchanges like one rainy season when Zomato tweeted, “This weather calls for pakoras and a cosy corner. We’ve got the former covered,” to which Swiggy replied, “Don’t forget the chai to go with those pakoras! We deliver happiness, rain or shine.”

These light-hearted “spats” have set a trend across industries, with rivals in other sectors now imitating this clever marketing strategy.

How does Swiggy's opening-day performance stack up against Zomato’s?

Swiggy made a strong market debut on Wednesday, listing at ₹420 on the NSE, a 7.7% premium over its IPO price of ₹390 per share, and at ₹412 on the BSE, up 5.6%. The Bengaluru-based food-tech company raised ₹11,327 crore through its IPO, including a fresh issue of ₹4,499 crore and an offer-for-sale of 175 million shares, priced in a fixed range of ₹371-390 per share with a lot size of 38 shares.

Despite initial flat trading in the grey market, Swiggy’s listing outperformed market expectations, as its grey market premium (GMP) had recently dropped to zero from ₹9.50 on the IPO's opening day.

In comparison, Zomato's IPO outperformed Swiggy's on its listing day, despite being a smaller issue. Zomato debuted on July 23, 2021, with one of India's largest listings, raising ₹9,375 crore (around $1.3 billion). Priced between ₹72 and ₹76 per share, the IPO saw massive demand, with the IPO being oversubscribed nearly 38 times. On its listing day, Zomato’s stock opened at ₹115 on the BSE, a 51.3% premium over the issue price, valuing the company at over $12 billion. This strong debut set a high bar compared to Swiggy's performance.

Today, Zomato’s stock opened at ₹258.08 on the NSE, and reached a low of ₹254.53 in morning trade, a 2.4% drop from yesterday’s close of ₹260.99, following recent downgrades from multiple brokerage firms.

Zomato and Swiggy lead India’s food delivery market, holding approximately a little less than 60% and over 40% of market share, respectively.