What began as a way to pad basket sizes and boost margins is now turning into a high-stakes growth engine for quick commerce players. The instant food segment, known for delivering ready-to-eat meals in 10 to 15 minutes, is turning out to be more than a passing trend. Experts believe that by 2026–27, the category could contribute 8–15% of overall revenue and as much as 25–30% of profits for leading quick commerce players.
“I would say by 2026–27, this space could hit Rs 8,000–Rs 10,000 crore just across the top 15 cities. Still smaller than grocery, but the margins are where the magic is. If groceries are a volume game, instant food is a margin game,” said Madhav Kasturia, a quick commerce expert and founder and CEO of Zippee.
From Zepto Cafe and Blinkit’s Bistro to Swiggy’s Snacc and BigBasket’s recent entry, the 10-minute food model is quickly gaining ground. Newer players such as Swish and Zing have also entered the race, while Rebel Foods, the country’s largest cloud kitchen operator, has launched QuickiES, a service promising 15-minute delivery.
The traction is visible. Platforms have reportedly reached tens of thousands of daily transactions, with some breaching the 50,000 mark and showing monthly growth rates of 50–60%, according to public data.
“The gap between the main food delivery business, q-comm and instant food delivery is starting to narrow. Startups and incumbents are pouring serious capital and attention into the space, betting that consumer demand for ready-to-eat convenience will keep growing,” said Somdutta Singh, investor and founder and CEO of Assiduus Global.
According to Kasturia, this is a crucial area for profitability. “This is where Zepto and Blinkit get their margins back. It’s not just add-on revenue. It’s survival,” he said. “If you already have dark stores, fleet, and a customer, why wouldn’t you sell them a Rs 249 smoothie while they are adding paneer?”
Swiggy’s recently launched Bolt vertical now powers over one in ten food orders on the platform, less than six months after launching in October 2024. Zepto Cafe, on the other hand, announced in February that it had crossed 100,000 orders per day and is projecting a gross merchandise value (GMV) of $100 million over the year.
While instant food may only command a mid-single-digit revenue share currently, analysts believe this could rise to low-double digits over the next 18–24 months. In terms of order distribution, groceries still dominate with about 60% share, but snacks are growing quickly at 25–30%, followed by high-ticket items like electronics.
“Q-comm players are finally realising that chasing grocery GMV is a hamster wheel. The customer acquistion cost (CAC) is brutal. The margins are razor-thin. But food? That’s 30–40% gross margins, easy,” Kasturia said. “If you’re getting 100k+ orders/day and even 10% are food, you are looking at Rs 1–1.5 crore daily revenue just from this category. And the best part? You don’t need a new customer. You just need to upsell.”
Globally, platforms like GoPuff in the US, Deliveroo in the UK, and Rappi in Latin America are also leaning into snacks and small meals to drive margins. But experts caution against overhyping the category.
“It’s not going to be as big as grocery-led q-comm. Not even close. Because groceries are a need. Food is a want,” Kasturia pointed out. “You don’t run out of dal and wait, you order. But if you are hungry and Zomato’s running an offer, you are not thinking Zepto Cafe.”
For new entrants like Swish and Zing, the challenge lies in scaling efficiently. “Unit economics in this category remain tight,” said Kartikeya Prakash, partner at Khaitan & Co. “Unless supported by capital depth, efficient kitchen-to-door operations, SKU efficiency and tight delivery radii, matching the reach of q-comm incumbents may be difficult.”
Swish, for instance, has raised Rs 122 crore in Series A funding and operates on a full-stack model. It controls everything in-house, from cooking to packaging to delivery, via ‘delight centres’ spread within a 1.5–2 km radius. “For now, Swish is keeping things small and hyperlocal, focused on getting the model right in a few Bengaluru neighbourhoods,” said Singh. “But whether that is enough to take on platforms like Swiggy and Zomato is unclear.”
Food delivery also brings added operational complexity. Storing and preparing meals requires cloud kitchens, temperature-controlled storage, food-safe packaging, and trained fleets. Building one fully functional kitchen can cost Rs 30 lakh, with another Rs 5–7 lakh for transit-safe packaging and Rs 2,000–3,000 per rider for thermal bags and training.
“So yes, easily Rs 2.5–3 crore per city to get it right. But if average order value (AOV) is more than Rs 250 and repeat is decent, they can claw it back fast,” Kasturia said. “It’s not easy. But if it was, Zepto wouldn’t be sweating over it either.”
That’s why experts see this segment scaling primarily in dense urban markets. “This vertical will scale meaningfully in metro clusters over the next 2–3 years,” said Prakash. “But in much of the country, it will remain a high-growth, complementary feature to quick commerce, rather than a standalone business line in the immediate term.”