1,336 biryanis a minute: India rang in New Year with its favourite dish
New Delhi: Food delivery platforms Swiggy, Zomato and magicpin reported an unprecedented surge in orders on New Year’s Eve, brushing aside the impact of strikes called by sections of gig workers demanding higher pay, safer working conditions and social security benefits.
The spike in demand came even as multiple labour groups staged protests across major cities. The Gig & Platform Service Workers Union claimed that more than one lakh workers from 22 cities joined the agitation, including about 14,000 members from large urban centres such as Delhi and Mumbai. Separately, labour unions said around 2.1 lakh gig workers participated in strikes nationwide on December 31. A section of riders, led by the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers and the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union, had also staged protests on December 25 and December 31, traditionally the busiest days for food delivery and quick commerce firms. Despite the unrest, companies said operations remained largely unaffected. In a post on X, Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal said Zomato and its quick commerce arm Blinkit delivered more than 75 lakh orders on December 31, an all-time high. He said over 4.5 lakh delivery partners served more than 63 lakh customers during the day, adding that support from local law enforcement helped ensure smooth operations. “This happened without any additional incentives for delivery partners. New Year’s Eve does see higher incentives than usual days and yesterday was no different than past New Year’s Eve days,” Goyal said, noting that Zomato was offering around Rs 120 to Rs 150 per order on December 31. He also thanked delivery partners who continued working and urged people not to be swayed by what he described as narratives driven by vested interests.
At magicpin, founder and chief executive Anshoo Sharma said the strike had “no impact” on the company’s services. He said lakhs of orders poured in every hour across metros, underscoring how food delivery has become central to New Year celebrations. Dinner orders peaked around 9:30 pm, with butter chicken emerging as the most-ordered main course in Delhi-NCR, followed by biryani and dal makhni. Pizza led early orders on the platform, while desserts such as gajar ka halwa and ice cream saw a three-fold rise from last year.
Data shared by Swiggy showed biryani once again dominating the festive spread. The platform clocked 2,18,993 biryani orders before 7:30 pm, averaging 1,336 orders per minute before 8 pm. One customer in Bhubaneswar placed a single order for 16 kg of biryani. By 8:30 pm, more than 2.18 lakh pizzas had been delivered, narrowly ahead of burgers at just over 2.16 lakh orders. Desserts such as rasmalai, gajar halwa and gulab jamun featured among the top choices later in the night.
Individual orders also stood out. A Bengaluru customer ordered 100 burgers in one go, while a Goa user placed orders for 39 portions of kebabs and tikkas. In Gurugram, one order included 18 boxes of brownies and 18 plum cakes. A customer in Nagpur placed more than 93 orders during the day, while a food lover in Surat ordered from 22 different restaurants on December 31 alone.
Swiggy said dining out also gained traction, with Bengaluru and Hyderabad leading reservations on its Dineout platform. Ahmedabad posted a 1.6 times jump in bookings, followed by Lucknow at 1.3 times and Jaipur at 1.2 times.
The robust performance came against the backdrop of a rapidly expanding gig workforce. According to government think tank NITI Aayog, India currently has an estimated 12.7 million gig workers, a number projected to rise to 23.5 million by 2029-30.
