Exclusive: Swiggy Suspends Delivery Service Genie

Foodtech major Swiggy has suspended its delivery service ‘Swiggy Genie’ across cities. The service, which was live in nearly 70 cities across India, is not being shown on Swiggy app at most locations.

At a few locations where the Swiggy Genie service is visible in the app, a message says that the service is “temporarily unavailable”. 

The service is currently unavailable in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi NCR. Inc42 couldn’t ascertain if it has been suspended across all cities where it was operational.

Responding to a post on X about removal of Swiggy Genie from the app, Swiggy said that Genie is taking a “little break from granting wishes”. 

“While there’s no concrete timeline for Genie’s return just yet, our team is working hard behind the scenes to bring it back as soon as possible. We’ll be sure to keep you posted the moment it’s back in action!” Swiggy said.

Inc42 has reached out to the company seeking further details about the suspension of the service and the reasons behind it. The story will be updated on receiving a response.

The hyperlocal delivery service, Swiggy Genie, was launched in April 2020 in 30 cities. Since then, the company expanded the instant pickup and drop-off service to close to 70 cities across the country. 

Notably, this isn’t the first time that Swiggy has halted Swiggy Genie. In 2022, the foodtech major paused the service in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Back then, it cited a surge in demand for its food marketplace and quick commerce vertical Instamart, requiring the company to prioritise these services. 

The latest development comes a day after Swiggy announced that its 10-minute delivery service Bolt has been expanded to over 500 cities across the country.

Interestingly, its archrival Eternal, while declaring its Q4 results earlier this week, announced that it is shutting Zomato’s 15-minute food delivery service Quick as it didn’t bring in any incremental demand during its pilot phase. Besides, Zomato said it will also shutter its homely-meal service, Zomato Everyday.

Swiggy is set to disclose its financial performance for Q4 on Friday (May 9). Brokerages estimate the company to report a 16% sequential decline in its EBITDA margin during the quarter, with its net loss ballooning to INR 927 Cr.

JM Financial said that the rise in loss would be because of Swiggy Instamart’s “aggressive dark store expansion and impact of high competitive landscape”.   

Swiggy reported a consolidated net loss of INR 799 Cr in Q3 FY25, up 39% from INR 574 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Revenue from operations zoomed 31% YoY to INR 3,993 Cr during the quarter. This growth was driven by strong demand in its core food delivery business and a surge in quick commerce revenue. 

Shares of Swiggy ended Friday’s trading session 3.40% lower at INR 305.35 on the BSE.