In a significant move, food delivery giant Swiggy announced the expansion of its 10-minute delivery service, Bolt, to over 400 cities across India. Initially launched in October this year in major metros such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Chennai, and Bangalore, Bolt will now cater to tier-2 and tier-3 cities like Roorkee, Guntur, Warangal, Patna, Solan, Nashik, and Shillong.
Bolt is designed to deliver food items requiring minimal or no preparation, sourced from restaurants within a 2-kilometre radius. With over 40,000 participating restaurants, including popular chains like KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, Starbucks, Chaayos, and EatFit, the service aims to revolutionize urban food delivery.
Swiggy clarified that delivery partners are not incentivized for faster delivery and are unaware of the distinction between Bolt and regular orders. The platform uses proximity-based prioritization to optimize delivery times.
Swiggy’s aggressive expansion is seen as an effort to reclaim market share from rival Zomato, which held 58% of India’s food delivery market as per a recent report by Motilal Oswal. Swiggy trails with a 42% share.
Zomato previously piloted a similar service, Zomato Instant, in 2022 but halted operations within a year. Meanwhile, competitors like Zepto and Swish are doubling down on the quick commerce trend.
- Zepto Cafe, launched in April 2022, aims to achieve a revenue run rate of ₹1,000 crore by 2026, according to CEO Aadit Palicha.
- Bengaluru-based Swish, another 10-minute delivery platform, recently secured $2 million in funding led by Accel Ventures.
The 10-minute delivery sector has witnessed increasing interest from investors and platforms alike. As consumer expectations for speed grow, companies like Swiggy are leveraging quick commerce to stay competitive in the evolving food delivery landscape.