Biryani was ordered more than once every second in 2020: Swiggy StatEATstics 2020

Leading food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy has released the fifth edition of its annual StatEATstics analysis 'The World from Home (WFH) edition'. The report delves deep into 2020’s most interesting ordering trends.

The StatEATstics order analysis is based on millions of orders received by Swiggy between January and December 2020.

Here are the highlights of the report:

A biryani ordered per second in 2020

● Veg, chicken, mutton or aloo biryanis collectively were ordered more than once every second.

● The mighty chicken biryani reaffirmed its place as India’s favourite dish.

● Over three lakh new users made their Swiggy debut by ordering in a chicken biryani.

● However, its vegetarian counterpart did not have the same luck. For every veg biryani, there were six chicken biryani orders.

The rise of work eat from home

● While Swiggy delivered five times as many orders to ‘home’ addresses compared to ‘work’ addresses between January and March, that number rose to nine times as many home orders versus work orders in April and May.

● Dishes like paneer butter masala, masala dosa, chicken fried rice and mutton biryani continued to be India’s favourite pick-me-up dishes.

● Perhaps missing their office cappuccinos and masala chais while working from home, lakhs of hardworking Swiggy users fought the post-lunch slump by ordering in varieties of tea and coffee.

What did Indians miss the most in 2020?

Not colleagues, not friends, but their pani puris. Swiggy delivered over two lakh pani puri orders post-lockdown.

2020 put health on the menu

● While users in the national capital region (NCR) ordered the healthiest meals, Bangaloreans showed a high resolve to get healthy - at 130 per cent, the city saw the highest increase in healthy food orders on Swiggy HealthHub. One health-conscious user in the city placed a minimum of two orders every day in the last four months!

● Supergrains emerged as India’s favourite way to get healthy, with a 127 per cent increase in orders for dishes based on them. It was followed by vegan (50 per cent increase) high-protein dishes (49 per cent) and keto-friendly items (46 per cent).

● Diwali-binge resulted in November recording the highest number of healthy orders.

● ‘Breakfast like a king; lunch like a prince; dine like a pauper’ was very much in vogue, with people eating an average of 342 calories for dinner. Lunches ranged at under 350 calories, while breakfast, the day’s most important meal, saw people consume an average of 427 calories.

● The healthy version of salads, sandwiches and ice creams were the most popular items on Swiggy HealthHub. Here are the six most ordered healthy dishes of 2020:

● High-fibre idli

● High-protein khichdi

● Vegan gravy

● Low-fat salads

● Keto-friendly sandwiches

● Gluten-free ice creams

Instant convenience. Delivered.

● Swiggy delivered over 1.6 lakh meal kits via Instamart.

● Swiggy delivered over 75,000 kgs of onion – the brand’s most ordered item on Swiggy Instamart till now. Along with other kitchen essentials like potatoes, bananas, coriander leaves and milk.

● Masks, hand wash soaps & gels, and sanitisers continued to be ordered through the year, right to the very end.

And a Genie for every wish

While forgotten keys, chargers, jackets and spectacles were the most common tasks (wishes?) pre-pandemic for Swiggy Genie, here’s what happened post-lockdown.

● Present in over 65 cities, Swiggy’s pickup and drop service Genie delivered it all: daily essentials and food, snacks and books to parents juggling remote work and their kids’ online school sessions, and even rakhis and chocolates during Raksha Bandhan.

● Home-cooked food was one of the most ferried items in 2020, as people reached out to help elderly relatives, friends and colleagues struggling without help. A rising interest in baking also meant a lot of people were swapping goodies and organising socially-distant potlucks. Over 120,000 food-related tasks were received on Swiggy Genie.

● While cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai turned to Swiggy Genie the most for food and daily essentials, Kolkata found itself a place in the top three cities for the delivery of medicines and COVID essentials.

● With several schools adapting to online learning, parents used Genie to collect new textbooks, homework diaries and stationery from schools. In all, Swiggy delivered 6,000 book kits to students from specific schools that it had partnered with.

Delighted to ‘meat’ you

● Nothing can keep meat lovers from grilling up homemade kebabs. India’s meat of choice was chicken, with over six lakh kgs ordered on Swiggy. Rohu and Catla (cut Bengali style, of course) were the most popular fish orders.

● Bengaluru emerged as the most meat-loving city.