Being in the thick of the food industry, Swiggy took a deep dive into its orders to understand what the nation was Swiggy-ing through 2017. Here’s a look at some of the interesting food trends that Swiggy discovered across seven Indian cities.
Over the past couple of years, India has witnessed a growing appetite for both Indian and international cuisine. In 2017, while Indians showed an interest in exploring and experimenting with their food choices, most stayed indigenous as desi dishes topped the list of most ordered food items online.
Biryani Continues to Rule
According to Swiggy’s order analysis, Chicken Biryani continued to rule the palate. Masala Dosa, Butter Naan, Tandoori Roti and Paneer Butter Masala rounded off the top five most ordered items of 2017.
Most Searched Food Item in India
While Pizza did not rank amongst the top five most ordered items, it was the most searched for. In fact, Indians have searched for it over 5 lakh times! The other searched items include Burger, Chicken, Cake and Momos.
When Hunger Strikes Most
Leaving its mark on the calendar, 3rd December saw maximum foodies order online [on Swiggy]. Considering the soaring temperatures during Indian summers, juices and shakes saw a 40 percent increase in average monthly orders during the months of March, April and May.
Overall, Swiggy’s order analysis highlighted India’s love of logging on and dining in across Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi- NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Pune. The analysis includes meal categories, late-night ordering, snacking, upcoming food trends, desserts, healthy and international cuisine.
Here is a look at what foodies gorged on in 2017
When Does India Eat Its Meals?
- Breakfast: Masala Dosa, Idli and Vada rule breakfast menus for most Indians. Breakfast is usually ordered at around 9.30am nationally. Chennai starts its day the earliest by ordering its breakfast at around 9.20am with some Pongal, the most preferred breakfast item in the city.
- Lunch & Dinner: For primary meals like lunch and dinner, most people preferred Biryanis (chicken, mutton & veg) followed by Paneer Butter Masala and Masala Dosa, Dal Makhani and Chicken Fried Rice. Most lunch orders are seen at around 1.15pm. Coming to dinners, Mumbaikars seem to be the last ones at the dinner table with maximum dinner orders being placed at 8.58pm.
- Snacks: In 2017, Indians munched the most on Pav Bhaji, French Fries, Samosas, Chicken Roll, Chicken Burger and Bhel Puri. Average time for snacks is 5.03pm.
- Late night: The top late-night orders included comfort foods such as Chicken Biryani, French Fries, Butter Chicken and sweet items like Death by Chocolate [chocolate sundae] and Nutella Brownie. Hyderabad tops the charts in making the most late-night orders followed by Bangalore and Delhi.
Ordering in is the In-Thing Across Cities
- The Mumbai Foodie: While most cities had Chicken Biryani as their most ordered food item, Mumbaikars stuck to ordering their staple – Pav Bhaji. The hungriest areas in Mumbai were Bandra West followed by Powai and Andheri West
- The Delhi Foodie: Delhi and Gurgaon chose to order more of Dal Makhani and Naan, suggesting that local cuisines in each of these regions take precedence. On the other hand, New Delhi also sees the maximum amount of Pasta being ordered vis-à-vis other cities. The areas that witnessed maximum orders in Delhi and Gurgaon are Janakpuri, Greater Kailash, Dwarka and Cyber City, DLF Phase 4, Palam Vihar respectively
- The Hyderabad Foodie: The city is undoubtedly the Biryani Capital of India. Biryani orders especially saw an increase in the months of June and October, possibly owing to the festivals of Eid and Diwali. There were over 20 varieties of Biryani that Hyderabadis ordered through Swiggy. The areas that witnessed maximum orders in Hyderabad are Madhapur, Banjara Hills and Kondapur.
- The Bangalore Foodie: Most Bangaloreans prefer South-Indian basics for breakfast and Chicken Biryani for meals. The city ranks second to Hyderabad in ordering highest Chinese food such as Manchow soup, Noodles and Fried Rice. Interestingly, Mumbai’s ever-famous Vada Pav is amongst the top five most ordered snack items in Bangalore. Indiranagar, Koramangala and HSR are the areas that witness maximum number of orders in Bangalore.
- The Kolkata Foodie: Most folks from the City of Joy preferred to order Biryanis and Fried Rice for their meals and Kachoris for breakfast and snacks. During Durga Puja, Kolkata’s most festive occasion, orders for sweets & desserts rise by 8 percent compared to the other cities. Central Kolkata, South Kolkata and Salt Lake are the hungriest areas in city.
- The Chennai Foodie: Pongal and Biryanis sum up the meals for most Chennaites. Areas such as Adyar, OMR Perungudi and Alwarpet see maximum foodies ordering-in.
- The Pune Foodie: Pune is the city that prefers Dal Khichdi, over Biryani for lunch. They also like to order shakes such as Mango, Strawberry and Chocolate. Areas such as Kothrud, Baner and Viman Nagar see maximum online ordering.
India’s Dessert Affair
Indians are very passionate about their sweet indulgences and any occasion is incomplete without a meetha accompaniment. Indians love Swiggy-ing desserts like Gulab Jamun, Double Ka Meetha and Rasmalai on a regular basis. When it comes to ice-creams Death by Chocolate, Tender Coconut Ice cream, and Brownie Fudge Sundae are some of the top-picks.
Swiggy’s order analysis suggests desserts are a woman’s best friend, as Indian women tend to order way more desserts than Indian men. The analysis also highlighted that the country’s startup capital, Bangalore is big on ice-creams, followed by Hyderabad and Mumbai.
Healthy Food Options Took the Center Stage
Consumers are taking a holistic approach towards healthy eating and looking at options that are a combination of health and taste. Roasted Chicken Salad tops the charts and is the most ordered choice of food amongst the health aficionados in most cities of India, while Bangaloreans stick to juices. Ironically Hyderabad, the city that consumes most Chicken Biryani is also the city that orders most healthy items. Superfood items such as Brown Rice Chicken, Chicken Oats Momos and Oats Banana Date Smoothies are also gaining popularity amongst health food lovers in India. Men between the age group of 25-34 years contribute the most to healthy food orders.
Further, most cities tend to order more non-vegetarian items than vegetarian. Overall, about 57 percent of orders were non-vegetarian and 43 percent vegetarian. while Bangalore topped the list for highest non- vegetarian orders, Pune is the only city that saw more vegetarian orders.
2017- Year of the Rooster
Chicken, by far, is India’s most loved meat as Swiggy’s order analysis finds that Chicken Biryani tops most meals, Chicken Fried Rice tops the list of Asian food items and Roast Chicken Salad tops the list for healthy food Items. After Chicken Biryani, Chicken 65 is the most ordered chicken item nationally. Bangalore & Chennai love their Chicken Lollipops, Hyderabad digs into Chicken 65, Delhi and Gurgaon love Butter Chicken while Mumbai and Kolkata stick to Roasted Chicken Sub and Chicken Momos respectively.
Bowled Over
Quick to jump on to the bowl trend, Hyderabad emerged as the bowl capital of India. Other cities like Pune, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai followed suit. Some of the popular bowls ordered are Fruit Bowl, Mexican Burrito Bowl, Rajma-Chawal Bowl, Paneer Hearty Bowl and Manchurian Bowl. Indians also see value in ordering combo meals such mini meals, Rajasthani masala paratha meal and nov-veg meals. Chennai ranks highest in ordering meals.
These were some of the dishes that kept foodies going in 2017.