Swiggy sharpens focus on digital, Gen Z and hyper-local tastes to tap food services market

New Delhi: On the sidelines of Swiggy’s How India Eats 2025 report launch, the company outlined its aggressive strategy to stay ahead of the next decade of consumption shifts. Speaking to BestMediaInfo, Swiggy’s leadership detailed how innovations in speed, affordability, hyper-localisation and Gen Z-focused products will shape its next phase of growth.

Sidharth Bhakoo, Chief Business Officer, Food Marketplace, Swiggy, underscored, “Swiggy has been innovating ahead of the curve for the last 18 months to 24 months. We have a bunch of innovative offerings which are unique to us in the category. We launched Bolt, which is our 10–15 minute food delivery service. That has gained a lot of traction from users because users obviously want food fast in times of need. And we have also been able to curate a good amount of supply with top restaurants that can enable that for us so that we can deliver in 10–15 minutes.”

Bhakoo added that affordability will be a major growth engine in the years ahead. “The second big innovation that we have launched recently is the 99 Store. Affordability is a big aspect which is going to drive category growth. In 99 Store, we are essentially creating meals that are affordable to the end consumers, specifically targeted at Gen Z and people who want to transact more but find online delivery expensive. So there we have curated a 99 Store, which is currently running across 700 cities.”

He emphasised that Swiggy’s expansion model is deeply linked to localised tastes and communication. “India is a diverse country. The food preferences change every 100 kilometres. So what is really relevant for us to do is whenever we are launching a new city or going to a tier 3 city, how can we get the local favourites on board? That is one very, very relevant factor. Secondly, what we also do extensively is partner with a lot of local influencers who can actually drive reach in the localised community. So these are the two things that we pivot on.”

On the company’s marketing mix, Bhakoo said, “Between our marketing and brand spend, almost 60–70% goes to digital. Traditional media would be 15–20%. TV, we barely do. We would essentially try to do more BTL activations. We have a dedicated budget each month, which we deploy across various propositions. It's very difficult to give a certain number on the conversion rate. But essentially, these activities are good to drive visibility for the brand.”

Calling Swiggy’s near-term plans aggressive, he said, “Our target is to go faster than the category. The industry is slated to grow aggressively over the next 3–4 years.”

He also highlighted Swiggy’s Gen Z-focused pilot, Toing. “Toing is a very exciting proposition that we launched. It's currently operational in Pune and Baroda. That's again targeted at Gen Zs. But it's a very affordable offering, which is unlike Swiggy. It's typically again a curation of menus, where the item prices are equal to the offline prices when you go and eat it at the restaurant. It's either the same or less. So, you will get the cheapest item prices. Plus, there are no bill shocks. No delivery, no packaging, no platform fee. So, it's an affordable offering, which we are piloting right now. And if we have MFP, it will scale across India.”

Swiggy CEO Rohit Kapoor, speaking about the competitive landscape, said, “We do look at our competitors, but we are not obsessed with them.”

India’s food services market to hit Rs 11.16 lakh crore by 2030

Swiggy and Kearney’s How India Eats 2025 report forecast that India’s food services market will cross Rs 11.16 lakh crore by 2030, with the organised segment growing at twice the rate of the unorganised sector. The organised segment is expected to contribute over 60% of total incremental growth and surpass the unorganised market.

The report noted that despite its size, India’s food services industry contributes 1.9% of GDP, significantly lower than China’s 5% and Brazil’s 6%, highlighting significant headroom for expansion driven by rising incomes, digital penetration and an expanding culture of convenience.

Health priorities reshape how India eats

The report showed a marked rise in consumer experimentation, with a 20% increase in unique cuisines ordered per customer and a 30% increase in the number of restaurants ordered from. Late-night eating is growing nearly three times faster than dinner, fuelled by pizzas, cakes and soft drinks.

Simultaneously, health-oriented consumption, focused on protein intake, calorie discipline and reduced added sugar, is growing at 2.3 times the rate of overall orders.

Hyper-regional revival and global culinary adoption

India’s rediscovery of its own culinary depth is evident in the rapid rise of hyper-regional cuisines such as Goan, Bihari and Pahari, which are growing at two to eight times the pace of mainstream offerings. Beverages like buttermilk and sharbat are also expanding at four to six times overall beverage growth, while tea consumption is growing more than three times faster, aided by digital ordering, even from roadside stalls.

Parallel to this revival is an unprecedented appetite for global cuisines. Korean, Vietnamese and Mexican are witnessing 17x, 6x and 3.7x growth indices respectively, while Peruvian and Ethiopian cuisines have made their entry into the Indian food landscape. Searches for Boba Tea have risen 11x and Matcha Tea 4x in the past five years, and items like sushi, tacos and Korean BBQ have moved firmly into the mainstream.

Speed, affordability and experience to shape the next phase

Kapoor said the industry's rapid evolution is being shaped by consumer expectations around speed and value.

“In a span of just over a decade, the industry has seen disproportionate evolution. Expectations on speed are being shaped by quick commerce; for instance, our 10-minute food delivery service Bolt contributes over 10% of platform orders. On one hand, consumers are demanding affordability in familiar cuisines like Indian and Italian, and on the other hand, adopting Matcha and Boba Tea like never before. And our restaurant partners are keeping pace, with QSRs and cloud kitchens projected to grow at a CAGR of 17%+, nearly 1.5x of organised food services growth. I am really excited to see what the next decade has in store for all the stakeholders in this dynamic space.”

The report outlined significant geographical shifts, with dining-out growth in cities beyond the top eight rising twice as fast as growth within major metros. Gen Z is emerging as the fastest-growing cohort in dining out, expanding three times faster than other age groups.

Restaurants double down on digital and pre-booking

Restaurants are now allocating more than 75% of their marketing budgets to digital channels to reach younger consumers. Pre-booking for dining out has grown seven times faster than walk-ins, and familiar cuisines such as North Indian and Italian are showing 10–40% higher growth indexation at lower price points.

Delivery platforms are also seeing the rise of an “unboxing” experience with innovations such as burger boxes that unfold into plates and biryani delivered in earthen handis.