Festive food boom in India: Swiggy records over 2.2 lakh orders in one hour during Navratri and Durga Puja

The festive season in India is in full swing, and food delivery has emerged as an essential part of the celebrations. From Raksha Bandhan to Ganesh Chaturthi, and now Navratri and Durga Puja, people are increasingly turning to online platforms for convenience, enjoyment and sharing festive meals with family and friends.

According to a report by Swiggy, categories like sweets, desserts and festive gifts have seen strong growth in online deliveries, highlighting how food has become an essential part of celebrations.

From September 22 to 30, Swiggy received over 99,200 orders for Sabudana Khichdi, over 1.03 lakh orders for Vrat Thali, and nearly 70,000 orders for Sabudana Vada. Mumbai and Bengaluru led orders for Sabudana Khichdi, while Delhi, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Noida and Lucknow topped the charts for Vrat Thali.

On Ashtami day, orders jumped 11.6% over last year, with 2.2 lakh orders placed in one hour between 8 and 9 pm as people broke their fast. The value of orders also increased by approximately 17%. Delicious desserts dominated, with choco lava cake, butterscotch mousse cake, nuts and dried fruits topping the dessert options.

Moreover, Swiggy Bolt’s express delivery platform saw high activity in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi, with emerging cities like Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati and Vadodara contributing significantly.

Domino’s desserts, including choco lava cake, butterscotch mousse cake, red velvet lava cake, and gift baskets, were particularly popular. The fastest delivery on Ashtami was completed in just 181 seconds in Gurugram.

In Kolkata, strong demand was recorded during Durga Puja days. Orders on Ashtami were up 11.3% over last year, with more than 60 orders per minute between September 28 and 30, peaking at 197 orders in one minute. Biryani emerged as the top choice, with more than 9,000 orders for lamb and chicken biryani being ordered in just three days. A customer placed an order worth INR 18,000 which included dry spicy lamb, Thai pork and Mongolian chicken.

Earlier in September, during Ganesh Chaturthi, Swiggy saw a spike in orders nationwide, with 2,28,102 modaks ordered. Mumbai (69,240) and Pune (30,433) led the trend.

During Raksha Bandhan in August, Swiggy recorded a 32.4% rise in orders, led by Bengaluru and Mumbai, while non-metro cities like Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Patna, Vadodara and Ludhiana grew by 38.1%.

These trends show that festive food delivery has become an essential part of India’s celebrations, combining convenience and luxury in both metropolises and emerging cities.