Online food delivery has come to stay in India. Its growth has picked up pace in the post-Covid era, so much so that it is poised to grab a fifth of the total food services market. A report just released by Bain & Company and Swiggy has pegged India's online food delivery market at Rs 2.12 trillion by 2030. This growth will be driven by an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 per cent over the next six years, says the report.
In the process, it will surpass the broader food services market in India, which includes dining out and home deliveries, currently valued at Rs 5.5 trillion. This market is estimated to grow annually at 10–12 per cent, touching Rs 9-10 trillion by 2030.
Factors leading to this expansion include growing customer base, higher consumption occasions, and more supply. The surge is supported by rising income, digital adoption, enhanced customer experience and increased willingness to experiment with new dining options.
Swiggy's Food Marketplace CEO Rohit Kapoor said that improving restaurant density will be crucial in reducing delivery costs, akin to China's model where higher restaurant density lowers delivery distances and costs.
The study highlights faster growth in convenience-driven formats like quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and cloud kitchens -expected to grow 40 per cent faster than the overall market from 2023 to 2030, by when an additional 110 million customers are anticipated to engage in more frequent dining out, shifting towards a convenient lifestyle.
The report projects an increase in the addressable customer base for the Indian food services market, growing from 320–340 million presently to about 430–450 million by 2030, driven by urbanisation and rising affluence.
While consumption is concentrated in top cities and among higher-income segments, significant growth is anticipated in tier-2 cities and beyond.
Notably, younger populations, such as Generation Z, are more likely to dine out, with monthly dining occasions anticipated to increase from five to 7-8 times by 2030. This is consistent with tendencies observed in developed countries such as the United States and China, where dining out is increasingly driven by convenience.
