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Food delivery platform Swiggy is reportedly piloting new private labels for its food business, named Soul Rasa and Stuffed, in south Indian cities like Bengaluru and Chennai as the startup is looking to scale its cloud kitchen business.

Swiggy is also looking to launch a few new food brands, people aware of the matter told MoneyControl.

“They are launching new cloud kitchens for these new brands as well as their old ones, but very cautiously treading the way and being very cost conscious,” a source was quoted as saying. The launch of the new food brands has been in the works for months.

Swiggy was not immediately available to respond to Inc42’s queries on the matter. 

Private labels are brands that Swiggy sells under its own name. The foodtech unicorn already operates brands such as The Bowl Company, Homely, and Breakfast Express. These brands contributed 20% to Swiggy’s revenue pre-pandemic, the report said. 

Swiggy cut down its cloud kitchens business in 2020 after the onset of Covid-19 pandemic. It laid off about 1,100 employees citing the business’s focus on growth and profitability across its kitchens.

The development comes at a time when the sector is seeing intense competition and the companies are also foraying into the quick commerce delivery segment. Swiggy’s rival Zomato recently announced the acquisition of Blinkit, while Ola exited its quick commerce business Ola Dash. Swiggy also offers quick commerce delivery services under the name Instamart.

It is also important to note that Swiggy is mulling its initial public offering (IPO) worth about $1 Bn. In March, it reportedly appointed JP Morgan and I-Sec as lead managers for its IPO. 

Recently, the Bengaluru-based startup also initiated its planned Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) liquidity program, giving eligible employees the option to receive liquidity of up to $23 Mn against their ESOPs. About 900 employees are set to benefit from this year’s liquidity program.

Swiggy entered the decacorn club in January this year after raising $700 Mn in a fresh round of funding led by Invesco and other new investors at a valuation of $10 Bn-$11 Bn.