From Fasting to Feasting: Swiggy Data Reveals India’s Biggest Festive Food Moments Yet

National, October 14, 2025: The festive spirit is in full swing, and India’s appetite is keeping pace. From Raksha Bandhan to Ganesh Chaturthi, and now Navratri and Durga Puja, data from Swiggy (Swiggy Ltd, NSE: SWIGGY / BSE: 544285) reveals a strong surge in festive food orders, underscoring how the country’s celebrations are increasingly centered around convenience and culinary joy. Swiggy’s data across recent weeks points to one of the promising festive seasons yet, with categories such as sweets, desserts, festive thalis, and gifting showing consistent double-digit growth. If Raksha Bandhan was about sharing and Ganpati about indulgence, Navratri became the bridge between both — bringing together fasting, feasting, and family, and signaling that the festive season has truly begun.

Between September 22, 2025, and September 30, 2025, Swiggy received over 99,200 orders for Sabudana Khichdi, more than 1.03 lakh orders for Vrat Thali, and nearly 70,000 orders for Sabudana Vada. Demand for Sabudana Khichdi was led by Mumbai and Bengaluru, followed by Pune, while Vrat Thali was popular in Delhi, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Noida and Lucknow.

On Ashtami day, the overall number of orders increased 11.58% compared to Ashtami last year. A remarkable 2.2 lakh orders were placed within a single hour between 8–9 PM as customers broke their fasts, and the value of orders rose by nearly 17% over Ashtami in 2024. Sweet cravings also took center stage on Ashtami day, with Choco Lava Cake, Butterscotch Mousse Cake, and Nuts & Dry Fruits Delights topping dessert choices across metros.

Swiggy also observed interesting customer behavior on its quick delivery platform, Bolt, where speed and convenience played a central role in driving engagement. On Ashtami, September 30, 2025, the app saw the highest orders from Hyderabad, Bengaluru Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi with significant traction from emerging towns such as Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati and Vadodara. Domino’s emerged as the favorite choice for desserts with Choco Lava cake, Butterscotch Mousse cake, Red Velvet Lava cake, Double ka Meetha & Choco Lava Cake gift hamper emerging as top favorites. The fastest delivery was completed in just 181 seconds in Gurugram.

Durga Puja celebrations in Kolkata also reflected the city’s appetite for festive food. Overall orders on Ashtami increased by 11.26% as compared to last year, with the platform recording more than 60 orders per minute between September 28–30, 2025 and peaking at 197 orders in a single minute during the same period. Among the many indulgences, biryani stood out as Kolkata’s top choice, with over 9,000 orders for mutton and chicken biryani placed in just three days. One customer alone placed an order worth INR 18,000, featuring dishes like Chilli Lamb Dry, Thai Pork, and Mongolian Chicken, showcasing the city’s festive indulgence. These trends reaffirm how food delivery continues to emerge as a central part of India’s celebrations.

Earlier in September, during Ganesh Chaturthi, Swiggy witnessed a nationwide festive rush, with customers ordering an impressive 2,28,102 modaks on the platform. Orders tripled within a day, from 29,674 on August 26 to 1,02,045 on Ganesh Chaturthi (August 27), reflecting a 35% increase over last year’s celebrations.

As always, Maharashtra led the modak mania, with Mumbai (69,240 orders) and Pune (30,433) topping the charts, followed by Nagpur, Nashik, and Amravati.

Kicking off the festive wave in August, during Raksha Bandhan Swiggy recorded a strong surge in food orders across both metros and emerging cities, underscoring how festive celebrations are becoming truly pan-India in flavour. Overall orders rose 32.4% compared to last year, led by Bengaluru and Mumbai. Non-metro cities outpaced even this growth, clocking a remarkable 38.1% rise, with Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Patna, Vadodara, and Ludhiana leading the charge.

These trends reaffirm how food delivery continues to emerge as a central part of India’s celebrations.