There’s A New 10-Min Food Delivery Kid On The Block; What’s Its Game Plan?

In 2008, little did people know that the arrival of Zomato would transform how food would be ordered in the not-so-distant future. Then came Swiggy in 2014, and what began as a convenience (ordering food at the click of a button) became a lifestyle.

More than a decade later, we are standing on the cusp of yet another revolution, with companies setting their eyes on making a sweet buck by providing Indian customers instant gratification. 

With 10 and 15-minute deliveries becoming a norm, Indian foodtech startups are not leaving any stone unturned to make the best of this high-octane space, offering a wide spectrum of offerings at the disposal of their customers. Not to mention, Indian foodtechs are now part of the larger quick delivery sector, which is poised to become a $9.9 Bn+ market opportunity by 2029, growing from a mere $3.3 Bn+ in 2024.

While traditional players like Swiggy and Zomato have entered the fast-food delivery race, offering meals within 10-15 minutes, newly borns, like Bengaluru-based Swish, are not far behind in the race. Imperative to mention that, Swish delivers a range of fast food offerings in just 10 to 15 minutes via its app.

To make things more interesting, another player, Zing, has emerged in the 10 to 15-minute food delivery space. Launched in November 2024 by Tarun Arora and Rachit Sahi, Gurugram-based Zing operates a hyper-local kitchen with the help of technology and a menu optimised just for quick deliveries.

The startup operates a cloud kitchen that are close to customer locations. This helps it reduce delivery time. Further, Zing’s menu comprises high-demand and quick-to-prepare dishes.  

What makes Zing’s foray more interesting in this space is that it claims to offer freshly made meals at a time when food items with longer shelf lives seem to be the primary play of many. 

Now, before we dive deeper into understanding how Zing plans to rule this roost for shine in this space, let’s understand what led to its inception.  

Inside The Genesis Of Zing

A foodtech was never on Arora’s cards until 2022 when he was working with Inshorts. Arora, a BTech graduate, started his career as a software engineer but soon realised that the monotony of routine coding work wasn’t a sustainable path for him in the long run.

In his quest for new challenges and to make a real world impact, he joined a news aggregator and content distribution company, where he steadily advanced through the ranks to become the chief operating officer.

However, during this time, he was experimenting with multiple ideas to quench his entrepreneurial thirst, but with little success — until the quick delivery space caught his attention, prompting him to contemplate a foray into the field.

This was when he thought of ultra-fast food deliveries. “While grocery and essentials are riding the quick-commerce wave, only a few are confident about addressing the need for ultra-fast food delivery. This thought laid the foundation for Zing,” Arora said.

The founder added that he observed the growing popularity of Blinkit and Zepto among the younger population. Alongside, he noted that when it comes to the need for instant food, current delivery times are around 40-45 minutes.

“Since food is more fundamental than groceries, it demands quicker solutions, which is why they decided to address this gap,” Arora said.

How Zing Is Carving Its Niche

Zing began its operations in November 2024. According to the founder, its approach has been slow and steady. This is because scaling operations quickly can be both challenging and capital-intensive. Therefore, Zing started small, operating in only two sectors of Gurugram. However, it has now expanded its reach to three or four sectors.

Now, in a bid to ace the quick delivery game, Zing does not partner with third-party restaurants. It has rather set up its own cloud kitchen and delivers food within a two-kilometre radius.

“While giants like Blinkit and Zomato have mastered the logistics of delivering food and groceries, food itself isn’t their core focus. For us, food is the business, not just delivery. Even for the big players, food remains a fresh and complex challenge,” Arora said.

This is exactly where the unique selling proposition lies — food. To ensure high-quality food is delivered within 10 minutes, it is essential to have end-to-end control over the kitchen operations, the founder said.

Moreover, per the founder, several factors are at play when one wants to truly ace the 10-minute food delivery market.

“Everything matters when you are racing against time — placement of utensils and appliances, as well as the distance between them. This is why we are meticulously optimising our kitchen setup and design,” Arora said.

Zing’s Blueprint For Success

Since its launch, Zing has made significant progress, surpassing 5,000 downloads on the Play Store. Starting with just 8-10 orders per day, the startup has grown steadily to handle over 100 orders daily, with an average order value of INR 220.

What makes Zing’s growth notable is its near-zero customer acquisition costs. The startup relies on cost-effective strategies like placing posters in corporate areas and offering referral discounts to existing users.

Moving ahead, Zing aims to scale its operations to 100 kitchens over next one year. The initial 4-5 kitchens are projected to handle 700 to 800 orders per day and achieve profitability by then, creating a model that can be replicated across new kitchens. Geographically, the startup plans to penetrate deeper into NCR and capture a few locations in Bengaluru.

Zing’s entry into the ultra-fast food delivery segment has come at a time when the Indian quick commerce space is expanding its ambit. While there is no doubt about the fact that the revolution of ultra-fast deliveries is here to stay, sustaining in this space will come at a cost.

Several deep-pocketed players already have their eyes on this highly lucrative space. In the absence of any investor backing, survival could get tough once the competition starts to beef up. However, before that happens, Zing has a first-mover advantage in the space. Now, if it plays its cards right, it has the potential to become the north star of the ultra-fast food delivery business.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]