Quick comm makes a dash for 10-min food delivery

The instant delivery model that stormed grocery shopping is building up in India's food segment as well, as more startups aim to follow in the footsteps of Swiggy Bolt and Zepto Cafe.

- Sowmya R.

However, 10-minute food delivery is yet to find its feet, as founders and investors alike strive to figure out a scalable model.

Bengaluru-based Swish, which promises 10-minute food deliveries recently raised $2 million from Silicon Valley venture capital firm Accel, with participation from Urban Company's Abhiraj Bhal and Varun Khaitan and former Swiggy Instamart head Karthik Gurumurthy, among others. Gurugram-based Zing, which delivers a variety of meals and snacks within 10 minutes received funding from early-stage venture capital firm 100x.vc last year.

"Ten-minute delivery is picking up because it is catering to the impulsive user who prioritizes convenience, just like quick commerce. The entire impulse market is very big and is poised for massive growth," said Karan Taurani, an analyst at Elara Capital.

While Swiggy's 11,300 crore initial public offering in November was considered a reason to celebrate for India's food-tech ecosystem, Zomato's expected Sensex debut next month has added excitement.

Aniket Shah, co-founder and chief executive officer of Swish, said the idea was born out of the need to meet the growing demand for faster food deliveries.

"We realized that quick commerce was initially seen only as a convenience, but has now become indispensable as people are seeking faster solutions to their everyday needs.