Bengaluru tops online food delivery chart

Bengaluru has topped the charts in online delivery of food, retaining its title as the food tech capital of India. The city accounts for a huge chunk of 16% of the net food tech orders amounting to 2.2 million orders per day pan-India and garnering about 24% of metro orders from January to March 2019, followed by Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai according to a report by Bengaluru based RedSeer Consulting.

The report states that though the seven metros accounted for a combined share of 64% of all food deliveries pan India, Non-metro (rest of India) cities grew 7x faster quarter-on-quarter compared to metro cities (80% growth vs 12%). It also states that the January to March period saw the food tech industry expand to more than 200 cities across the country.

On what makes Bengaluru standout in this space, Rohan Agarwal, an engagement manager with RedSeer Consulting points out, “In the food tech market in India, the seven metros garner a lion’s share. The main contributors to this are big players such as Swiggy and Zomato. In the first three years, we saw the big players in this segment focus on the metro cities. A major driver in that aspect was creating a habit of ordering among the young professionals and creating other infrastructure for delivery. Discounts and offers were also focussed on these markets and that has driven a lot of growth in this segment.”

He added, “As far as Bengaluru is concerned, young professionals, who are high-frequency users, form a major part of the population. This group which does not have functional kitchens in the places they stay depend on food tech very regularly. With the offers and discounts available on these aggregators, it is usually cheaper and tastes better than the fare at roadside eateries and paying guest accommodations. Moreover, a lot of these professionals do not have family in the city, and yearn for food from home.”

According to data from food tech brand, Zomato, Bengaluru loves ordering chicken biryani, followed by masala dosa, chicken fried rice and grilled chicken. A Zomato spokesperson said, “Most orders in the city happen from 8 am to 9.30 pm. HSR Layout gets the highest number of orders with suburbs such as Jalahalli, Kadugodi, Kengeri also growing at a fast pace.”

A Swiggy spokesperson said, “Consumers are seeking reliability and convenience for their food choices. It has been aided by the rapid penetrations of smartphones as well.”