India's relationship with food and grocery delivery has quietly shifted from last-minute fixes to an everyday habit. What once began as a solution for emergency milk runs or forgotten ingredients is now deeply woven into daily cooking routines, snack cravings and even lifestyle choices.
From early-morning tea essentials to late-night comfort food, online grocery platforms are increasingly shaping what Indians eat, when they eat and how quickly it arrives. Swiggy Instamart's latest annual order analysis - How India Instamarted 2025 - offers a revealing snapshot of these changing food behaviours, tracking millions of orders placed across the country over the past year.
Milk, Paneer, And Chips Rule Daily Shopping Carts
- According to the report, milk continues to be the undisputed staple. In 2025 alone, users ordered more than four packets of milk per second via Swiggy Instamart - a volume large enough to fill over 26,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
- Paneer also emerged as a clear favourite, outselling cheese by more than 50 per cent.
- When it came to snacking, masala-flavoured chips topped late-night orders in nine of India's ten biggest cities.
Kitchen Staples And Repeat Favourites
Some ingredients remain non-negotiable in Indian kitchens. Curry leaves, yoghurt, eggs, milk and bananas dominated repeat orders nationwide.
In Kochi, one particularly loyal customer ordered curry leaves 368 times in a single year, almost once every day. These repeat purchases highlight how quick-commerce is increasingly being used for routine cooking needs rather than occasional indulgences.
Big Spenders, Fast Delivery And Global Flavours
Some spending patterns were hard to miss.
- A Bengaluru account spent Rs 4.36 lakh on noodles alone
- A Mumbai user shelled out Rs 16.3 lakh on Red Bull Sugar Free.
- A Bengaluru user's order paired a Rs 1.7 lakh iPhone alongside a Rs 178 lime soda.
- In NCR, one Noida-based customer spent Rs 2.8 lakh on 1,343 protein items. Protein emerged as a standout category in 2025, with seven of the top ten protein products being bars, followed by ready-to-drink shakes and high-protein yoghurts.
Global flavours also made their presence feel better. Orders for Korean ingredients surged, with gochujang sauce orders in Bengaluru jumping by 491 per cent. Noodles accounted for nearly nine out of ten Korean product orders, reflecting the popularity of easy-to-cook international comfort foods.
Quick delivery continues to be a defining feature of the platform. In Lucknow, a pack of Maggi Magic Masala noodles was delivered in under two minutes, faster than the time it takes to cook them.
Chai Still Beats Coffee
Despite evolving food trends, chai retained its crown as India's favourite beverage. Across the top ten cities, for every cup of coffee ordered, Indians consumed 1.3 cups of chai.
Cities, Carts And Peak Ordering Hours
The report also spotlighted some of India's most active Instamart users.
Power shoppers crossing the 1,000-order mark were recorded in cities such as Kolkata (1,197 orders), Mumbai (1,142), Kochi (1,089) and Gurgaon (1,033).
Order patterns revealed two clear daily peaks - between 7 am and 11 am, and again from 4 pm to 7 pm - suggesting that mornings and early evenings remain prime times for stocking up.
Tier-II Cities Drive Quick-Commerce Growth
Beyond metro cities, Tier-II markets are emerging as strong growth drivers. Rajkot recorded a tenfold year-on-year increase in orders, while Ludhiana saw sevenfold growth and Bhubaneswar registered a fourfold rise. The data points to rapid adoption of quick-commerce in smaller cities, especially for food and grocery essentials.
From The Biggest To The Smallest Cart Of 2025
The biggest spender of 2025 clocked over Rs 22 lakh in total orders, adding everything from 22 iPhone 17s and 24K gold coins to milk, eggs, ice cream and fresh fruit. At the other end of the spectrum was the tiniest cart of the year - a Rs 10 printout ordered by a Bengaluru user.
All insights in the report are based on an analysis of millions of Swiggy Instamart orders placed between January and November 2025 across more than 128 Indian cities.
About Jigyasa KakwaniJigyasa finds her solace through writing, a medium she is exploring to make the world more informed and curious with every story published. She is always up for exploring new cuisines, but her heart comes back to the comforting ghar-ka-khana.