.png)
Think of a month without food deliveries. A month where you don’t takeout out any food or order it online through any portal. Is it possible? Is it feasible that in today’s world we can survive without them? Okay, let me not say survive, well can we endure our love for ordering food online at our comfort and enjoying deliciousness at our own pace by watching some of our favorite shows. I don’t think more than half of the millennial population will be in favor of it. (including me!)
The food delivery apps have made their special place in the lives of the individuals. The system of delivering food at your door step began way early in the 1800’s in countries like Korea and Italy. However, they were sensationalized in the late 1900’s, when restaurants in America adopted this method. Ever since fast food was invented there has been no stopping for its consumption, they made it even more spectacle when they started to deliver at doorsteps. they did so as individual restaurants, but when ‘waiter.com’ launched in America, it was a whole new era of food deliverance that began.
Waiter.com still exists by the same name and is responsible for more than half the share of the market in the US. It now emphasizes more on delivering corporate meals.
Since then, there have been a plethora of food delivery sites and now food delivery apps such as Door Dash, Postmates, Grub hub which have gone and done some eminent business and continue to do so.
The millennials have almost made the system a part of their daily use. Pizzas and Fried chicken from a number of restaurants have been a customer favorite in America. Be it Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria for baking their mouthwatering pizzas and pies in coal heated ovens or the luscious crispy fried chicken from Willie Mae’s in New Orleans, these apps deliver all!
Delivery platforms went on to rise in the American market and currently hold a share of more than 20 Billion dollars according to the recent study. These applications have seen a tremendous rise in the pandemic period, as when the lockdown was lifted people all over the states ordered food online as they were hesitant to dine in the restaurants due to the covid-19 horror. It was like a golden period for these apps, as they went on to be used in abundance while people craved for delectable restaurant food.
It did not take much long for these apps to prevail in India, a country full of young blood and people waiting to explore anything new that comes there way. Here is something that most people might forget that the food delivery was long ago already practiced in India, the only irony is that the name was not yet used!
In the late 1800’s the infamous “dabbawalla’s” already stationed food from one place to another. It was home cooked food which was picked up from the employee’s respective homes by a person and delivered to the corporations. This system is still followed in parts of the country, but when everything in India started to digitalize and apps were encouraged to be used, platforms such as Foodpanda were among the first to provide their services.
Later on, many apps have been launched but some of the most prevalent applications were Zomato, Swiggy which went on to gain fame in the industry.
Swiggy which was founded in 2014, headquartered in Bangalore is now the most used delivery service in India right now. It currently owns 60% of the market share which is more than combined shares of its competitors, valuing up to a 3.3 Billion US Dollars. It is astonishing to see how a mere start up can lead an industry in a stupendously huge manner.
As I mentioned above and we all know that India is a country full of millennials which means a large number of the population works on a daily basis, most people find themselves packed with a busy schedule and hardly find enough time to cook for themselves or even want to cook!
Folks find it amusing that how by clicking just a few steps one can get scrumptious favorites delivered at their doorsteps.
The pandemic made us all locked by ourselves social distancing and craving for restaurant food
which has no doubt acted as an additional factor for the rise of these apps. The entire industry has gained colossal numbers in the COVID period. They have managed to advertise their apps in various collaborations and even provide several discounts which go up to 60 % and benefits to their customers to use their apps.
People couldn’t avoid those especially in such difficult times.
They have succeeded in bringing a variety of cuisines on their apps, for instance Swiggy offers food from Asian restaurants with favorites like noodle soups, sushi and much more. In a recent report by Swiggy, one of the most ordered food on the app was Chicken Biryani!!
That surely proved the love of Indians for its Biryani.
Recently it advertised for providing all the cuisines of India be it the piquant North Indian cuisine or flavorsome South Indian food or even the appetizing cuisines from the West and East of India, they have administered to bring all of these under a single roof in the most effortless way for the customers. It has expanded its horizons even more by adding extravagant fast-food restaurants like Pizza Hut, McDonalds and KFC which have an audience of their own.
What was fascinating to see in this scenario was that most these restaurants already had their home delivery facilities, yet they had their food ready to be delivered on Swiggy and many more delivery apps. There is absolutely no doubt that these services have managed to make our lives much easier by providing their services in delivering food, but such apps have also led to inauguration of many homebased kitchens, in which a small group of people have collaborated their resources and started up a business of providing homemade deliciousness to all the people who stay away from their homes!
The industry is at a sprint in today’s world and visions of providing employment in the country by expanding its mean as long as it can.
I personally have loved my time ordering food and enjoying different cuisines, Have you?
Do let us know your views in the comments below!