How do you know a Swiggy SKU is negative margin?

Contribution margin = list price − food cost − packaging − aggregator commission (effective, not headline). Forkcast computes this per SKU using live ingredient costs and your contracted commission slab. A dish can show 38% food cost on dine-in but 52% effective cost on aggregator after commission and packaging.

Did repricing hurt the Swiggy rating?

Rating held at 4.3-4.4 throughout. Two SKUs were repriced (+₹25 and +₹30), two were bundled, one was delisted. Volume on repriced SKUs dropped 4-6% — within the acceptable band.

Why not just raise all aggregator prices 12%?

Blanket markup is lazy and visible in competitor grids. SKU-level fixes target the actual losers. Three of the five SKUs were already profitable — only the Plow Horses and one Dog needed action.

How long until margin recovered?

First measurable shift at day 14 (P&L review). Full ₹1.8L/month run-rate by day 45 after all five SKUs were actioned and aggregator promos on those items were paused.

Swiggy margin recovery: fixing top 5 negative SKUs

Five dishes drove 44% of Swiggy revenue but lost money on every order after commission and packaging. This fictional-but-realistic case study follows a Hyderabad casual-dining outlet that fixed all five in 45 days — ₹1.8L/month recovered, rating held above 4.3. The playbook: diagnose, then repricing, bundling, or delisting — never blanket markup.

The outlet

64 covers, Jubilee Hills, north-Indian and biryani focus. Swiggy share: 41% of total revenue. Dine-in contribution margin: 56%. Aggregator contribution margin: 31% — dragged down by five high-volume SKUs that were negative after effective commission (24% headline + 4% ad spend + packaging).

The diagnosis: top 5 Swiggy SKUs

SKU	Swiggy price	Food cost	Packaging	Effective commission	CM / order	Monthly units
Chicken biryani	₹285	₹112	₹18	₹82	−₹27	2,840
Butter chicken	₹320	₹128	₹22	₹92	−₹22	1,960
Dal makhani	₹195	₹62	₹16	₹56	−₹3	1,420
Paneer tikka	₹265	₹78	₹18	₹74	+₹15	1,180
Veg manchurian	₹210	₹82	₹18	₹59	−₹31	890

Chicken biryani and butter chicken alone were losing ₹1.1L/month. The owner had no idea — dine-in margins on the same dishes were healthy. Aggregator economics are a separate P&L; see aggregator commission negotiation for the full cost stack.

Action 1: Reprice with aggregator-only menu (+₹25-30)

Chicken biryani: ₹285 → ₹310 on Swiggy only. Dine-in held at ₹340. Butter chicken: ₹320 → ₹345. Staggered by one week. Volume dropped 5% and 4% respectively — acceptable. Combined recovery: ₹68k/month.

Separate aggregator menus are standard practice. Customers don't cross-check dine-in vs app prices. The Plow Horse repricing playbook covers timing and increment size.

Action 2: Bundle dal makhani (margin-positive attach)

Standalone dal makhani at ₹195 was break-even negative. Bundled 'Dal makhani + jeera rice + papad' at ₹265 — food cost ₹88, effective commission ₹74, packaging ₹22, CM +₹31/order. Bundle attach rate hit 38% within three weeks. Dal makhani standalone volume dropped but total dal revenue grew 12%.

Action 3: Delist veg manchurian

Veg manchurian was a Dog on the menu engineering matrix — low popularity, negative aggregator margin. Delisted from Swiggy; kept on dine-in for the 6% of customers who ordered it. Lost ₹19k/month in revenue, gained ₹27k/month in avoided losses. Net +₹8k.

Action 4: Hold paneer tikka — protect the winner

Paneer tikka was the only top-5 SKU with positive aggregator CM. No price change. Moved to position 2 on the Swiggy menu and added a hero photo. Units grew 11% in 30 days — margin-safe volume lift.

Action 5: Pause promos on fixed SKUs

Swiggy BOGO on chicken biryani was running at owner-funded 50% — effective commission hit 34%. Paused on the two repriced SKUs. Orders dipped 8% for two weeks, then recovered as organic ranking stabilised. Promo-dependent volume is expensive volume.

Results at day 45

Metric	Before	After	Delta
Aggregator contribution margin	31%	39%	+8 pts
Monthly aggregator P&L	−₹42k	+₹1.38L	+₹1.8L swing
Swiggy rating	4.35	4.32	−0.03
Top-5 SKU volume	8,290/mo	7,940/mo	−4.2%
Negative-margin SKU count	3	0	−3

We were paying Swiggy to sell our biryani. Now the same five dishes fund the rent on aggregator channel.
— Owner, Jubilee Hills casual dining (composite pilot)

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