Can 10-Minute Food Delivery Startup Swish Pull Off What Zomato Couldn’t?

In just a few years, “10-minute” deliveries have completely disrupted the Indian ecommerce landscape so much so that the Indian quick commerce segment is anticipated to become a $9.9 Bn+ market opportunity by 2029, growing from a mere $3.3 Bn+ in 2024.

While Zomato-owned Blinkit in its Q1 FY25 results highlighted that it witnessed a huge wave of ecommerce users shift to the quick commerce platform, foodtech giants Swiggy and Zomato, too, have seen the growth of their respective quick commerce verticals outpace their core food delivery businesses. So, it seems that something is sticking with users when it comes to the “10-minute delivery” model. 

However, while there are hordes of players in the market delivering groceries and electronics to users within 10 minutes, there are barely any platforms that claim to deliver food within 10 minutes. 

Realising that there was a big whitespace in the segment, founding team members of crypto investment platform Pillow Aniket Shah and Ujjwal Sukheja, along with former Polygon Labs software engineer Saran S sat down to build a business that would operate at the intersection of quick-commerce and food deliveries — an area that the mightiest of the players have failed to tame. 

After spending a few months on the drawing board, the cofounder trio launched their 10-minute food delivery startup Swish earlier this month (August 4). The startup delivers a range of fast food offerings in just 10 to 15 minutes via its app. Since its launch, the app has seen over 5,000 downloads on Google’s Play Store. 

Currently, the startup only operates a cloud kitchen named Pod in Bengaluru’s HSR Layout. The kitchen occupies 250 sq. ft. and delivers to areas within a 1.5 km radius. The cofounders told Inc42 that Swish receives approximately 150-200 orders daily, with an average order value of INR 250-300, in the first week of its operation. 

According to Shah, the startup’s big plan is to set up 45 Pods in the next six months in a bid to cater to the “most high-demand areas of Bengaluru”. The startup has plans to expand outside Bengaluru in due course of time. 

Tombstones In The 10-Minute Food Delivery Graveyard

Crucial to note that foodtech giants Zomato and Swiggy, as well as quick commerce unicorn Zepto have also tried their hands in the 10-minute food delivery space. However, what happened to their plans is anybody’s guess. 

In April 2022, Zomato piloted its quick food deliveries vertical Zomato Instant in Gurugram while Swiggy Instamart launched Instacafe to pilot deliveries of pre-made food and snacks, along with groceries, through its dark stores in certain pockets of Bengaluru. 

Zepto, too, launched its quick food delivery arm Zepto Cafe in pilot mode in Mumbai in 2022. At the time, the quick-delivery startup envisioned expanding the offering to Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Hyderabad by June 2024. It seems to have made no headway in this direction so far. Instamart Instacafe, too, has not expanded its geographies.

Zomato, on the other hand, rebranded the vertical in January 2023 and was said to be working on a new menu. Also, an Inc42 report suggests that the “rebranding” of the vertical was largely a consequence of the company “not getting the daily volume required to even meet the fixed costs”.

What Makes Swish Stand Out?

With even the bigger players trying but failing to make a living out of the 10-minute food delivery business, it is critical to understand what is making the Swish cofounders bet big on the vertical.  

“While there have been challenges for implementing 10-minute delivery models, we felt that there’s been a behaviour shift in terms of customers ordering food online over the past two years. With people now getting more than 80% of their demands addressed in under 15 minutes, their preference for quick food deliveries is something that will be more pronounced moving forward. As of now, we just want to optimise our food delivery playbook and scale rapidly,” Shah told Inc42. 

Before taking the entrepreneurial plunge, the cofounder trio tested the viability of the idea (10-minute food deliveries) by launching an initial pilot phase that lasted three to four weeks. During the trial run, they realised there was enough demand for such a service. 

To build their Pod, the trio took the help of their ex-colleagues and friends in the food delivery business. Well equipped with multiple expertise, Shah claimed that they have been able to keep their capex, including the rent-to-sale ratio, extremely low. 

Moving on, the cofounders have built the setup of their Pod in such a manner that it enables the team to prepare, garnish and package food in under 6-7 minutes.

However, the unsung hero behind the curtains is Swish’s head chef, who has played a crucial role in perfecting the menu for the quick delivery startup.

“Our intent with Swish has been to operate in a way that we don’t compromise on our food quality, taste, driver safety and hygiene. Besides, we have also priced our menu in a way that it is cheaper than what is commonly available on other food delivery platforms,” the cofounder asserted. 

Swish’s Hyperlocal Play

Unlike bigger foodtech players, Swish is a vertical startup that is more than capable of controlling all aspects of its operations in-house, including app design, food preparation, delivery mechanics, transport, and supply chain. 

“We are trying to create a hyperlocal delivery system for Swish. To make these deliveries possible, we have optimised the food preparation process to a maximum of 4-5 minutes, the packaging takes 1-2 minutes, and the delivery process takes about 4-5 minutes,” the cofounders said. 

However, on the unit economics side, Shah believes that the model works “well”, especially when the order volumes are more than 100 per day. What helps Swish strike the right balance is its 70% margins on its food items, which, as per the founder, is the standard norm of the F&B industry. 

Meanwhile, Swish incurs no marketplace or partnership fees and significantly reduces delivery costs by restricting its delivery radius to 1.5 km from the Pod. Shah said that he wants to replicate this playbook at scale at the time of expansion. 

The startup currently operates with a team of 15-20 people, including delivery partners, kitchen staff, and a tech team. The cofounders are rigorously fine-tuning the startup’s operations. Shah believes that Swish is on the verge of expanding its operations to other areas of Bengaluru and is also working on enhancing its menu with healthier options. 

While Swish has a long way to go before it can make even a slight dent in the homegrown food delivery space, it has a big opportunity ahead of it. However, for now, the blazing question is — Has Swish broken the 10-minute food delivery code when its deep-pocketed rivals couldn’t? Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.