Swiggy Launches 10-Minute Food Delivery Service Bolt

IPO-bound foodtech major Swiggy has launched a new service to deliver quick-to-prepare dishes in 10 minutes. 

Called Swiggy Bolt, the new offering is currently operational in six cities – Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, and Pune. 

In a statement, Swiggy said that the new offering will deliver food from popular restaurants and QSR chains within two kilometre radius of the consumer. 

Bolt will feature dishes such as burgers, hot and cold beverages, breakfast items, and biryani that require minimum preparation time. The new offering will also focus on ready-to-pack dishes like ice cream, sweets and snacks. 

“Customers can choose from a mix of well-known national brands like KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, Starbucks, Chaayos, and EatFit, alongside local favourites… “ the statement added. 

The company also claimed that the delivery partners will not be informed of the distinction between Bolt and regular orders, adding that they will not be penalised or incentivised based on delivery time.

“Bolt is the next evolution in our mission to provide unmatched convenience. Ten years ago, Swiggy revolutionised food delivery by cutting average wait times to 30 minutes. Now, we’re reducing that wait even further for frequently ordered items… ,” Swiggy’s food marketplace division’s CEO Rohit Kapoor said. 

In a post on LinkedIn, Kapoor said that Swiggy is eyeing a pan-India roll out of the service in the near future. 

This comes nearly a month after Inc42 reported that the IPO-bound foodtech launched ‘Cafe’ in a few localities in Bengaluru to deliver snacks and beverages in 15 minutes. At the time, it was reported that Swiggy Cafe had curated a few beverage options such as coffee, milkshakes, and protein bars from brands like Blue Tokai and The Whole Truth under the new offering.

Earlier today, it was also reported that the foodtech major has started piloting a high-priced concierge membership that offers subscribers purchase access to high-end experiences and events that are not available to the general public.

However, the 10-minute delivery space is not something new for the IPO-bound startup. In 2022, it launched Swiggy Instacafe in a pilot mode under its quick commerce arm Swiggy Instamart. It was said to be making deliveries of pre-made food and snacks, along with groceries, through its dark stores in certain pockets of Bengaluru back then. 

Swiggy’s competitor Zomato also launched a similar service ‘Zomato Instant’ in Gurugram in April 2022 but “rebranded” the vertical due to “not getting the daily volume required to even meet the fixed costs”. 

Meanwhile, a new competitor in the 10 minute food delivery space emerged recently. Swish, founded in August, began delivering select fast food in the HSR layout area of Bengaluru and is planning to expand its operations soon.

For Swiggy, the pilots come ahead of its much-anticipated IPO. The startup filed its updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). On Thursday, the company got approval from its shareholders to increase the size of the fresh issue of shares in the IPO to INR 5,000 Cr. The IPO will also comprise an offer for sale of 18.53 Cr equity shares.