Urbanites are increasingly turning to Swiggy to enjoy a meal of their choice in the comforts of their home

Swiggy has been around since 2014, when it started operations in Bangalore. It has since moved on to eight cities and over 12,000 restaurant partners, and 13,000 delivery executives.

A fast-paced technology adoption, a growing familiarity with online food ordering, increasing internet penetration and a higher density of restaurants in the neighborhood are some of the key reasons why Swiggy is present in these eight locations.

Srivats TS, VP, Marketing, Swiggy, in conversation with Pradeep Chakraborty, reveals more:

BW: Swiggy has been doing very well? But, why Bangalore and seven/eight other cities?

Srivats TS: Back in 2014, Swiggy began operations in one neighbourhood in Bengaluru with six delivery executives and 25 restaurants on its platform. Today, we are present in eight cities with over 12,000 restaurant partners and 13,000 delivery executives, and are changing the way India eats.

Deterred by the urban challenges of long working hours, traffic and parking concerns, urbanites are increasingly turning to Swiggy to enjoy a meal of their choice in the comforts of their home.

All the cities we are present in have a multi-cultural, experimental population with a growing appetite for a variety of cuisines. In addition, fast paced technology adoption, a growing familiarity with online food ordering, increasing internet penetration and a higher density of restaurants in the neighborhood are some of the key reasons why Swiggy is present in these eight locations.

BW: Have you tried other cities? What's the experience?

Srivats TS: When it comes to food ordering and delivery, India is a young market with tremendous potential, and we have the opportunity to change food ordering and delivery from being a mere convenience to a great experience for consumers.

Our focus has always been on delivering the best possible experience to our consumers. This translates to consistent technology upgrades, a wider spread of restaurant partners ranging from QSRs to local cafes, late night delivery in some cities and better delivery efficiency with shrinking delivery timelines.

At the moment, we continue to focus on deepening our reach, and adding more value to the eight cities we’re present in.

BW: Swiggy has been flexible to offer customers a no minimum order policy on any restaurant and accept online payments for all partner restaurants. What's the experience like?

Srivats TS: The growth we have witnessed over the last 12 months is testament to the great customer experience we provide. We leverage a large and nimble delivery service with over 13,000 delivery executives. This helps us deliver food at a lightning fast speed, and offer customers a no minimum order policy. It also provides flexibility to our users, helping them avoid unnecessary ordering of food.

Swiggy provides the best user experience in food delivery. Enabling swift and reliable payment options is a priority for us. On Swiggy, customers have multiple payment options including COD, debit card, credit card, net banking and mobile wallets.

BW: How long will the no minimum order policy continue?

Srivats TS: As a customer-centric company, we constantly strive to ensure a better customer experience by providing a hassle-free and reliable experience. No limit on minimum order, along with other benefits like super-fast delivery, live order tracking, customer support will continue to be our true differentiators.

BW: Besides Swiggy Tuesday, are there any new days on offer? If not, by when can we expect this?

Srivats TS: Swiggy runs many exciting offers for food lovers. More recently, in keeping with the excitement around the ongoing IPL, we introduced the Swiggy Food Premier League. Most cricket lovers would like to order in and enjoy food as they cheer their teams; offers from their favourite restaurants help them make this decision fast and rewarding at the same time.

Swiggy also runs the Swiggy Food Carnival at the end of every month, where we get multiple restaurants in every city to offer discounts ranging from 10-50 percent for a long period (seven-eight days). Over 3,000 restaurants from across the cities we are present in participate in the Food Carnival with the number growing month on month.

Initiatives like these have worked very well. We’ve seen a 23 percent increase in new user orders, as well as a 19 percent increase in orders during the same time period. It’s a fantastic way for our restaurant partners to increase their sales.

BW: How many restaurants do you currently have on the platform?

Srivats TS: As one of India’s largest food ordering and delivery platforms, we have more than 12,000 active partner restaurants across the eight metros that leverage Swiggy to reach new customers and increase their sales.

These span different price points and cuisines, from global QSRs like Pizza Hut, Dominos Burger King and Dunkin Donuts, local chains like Paradise Biryani and Café Coffee Day to the city’s most iconic restaurants and trendy new cafés.

BW: What is the target for 2017-18?

Srivats TS: We will continue to invest in our vision of changing the way India eats, with an improved customer experience at its core. This will include technology upgrades, with better user experience and personalisation on the app, a wider spread of restaurants to choose from, and better delivery efficiency.

BW: Approximately, what's the percent of repeat orders? Which city leads, besides Bangalore?

Srivats TS: Swiggy has almost five to six repeat orders per customer per month (twice as much as any other competitor in the space) with industry leading retention rates. Our top customers have ordered as often as 30 times a month.

Of course, we see higher than normal orders during festivals, holidays and weekends across all the cities. We are on-track to consolidate our leadership position in all the markets, with Hyderabad and Bangalore leading the way.

BW: What are you doing to ensure service and customer experience are top notch?

Srivats TS: As a customer-centric company, we are wholly dedicated to improving the process and experience of food order and delivery. Since its inception, Swiggy has rapidly grown to become the leader in the Indian food delivery sector by consistently shrinking delivery timelines and improving customer experience.

Starting from discovery through visual menus (pioneers in the aggregator space), curated marketplace providing access to best restaurants (over 1,000 top restaurants in India exclusive to Swiggy, over 12000 restaurants on the platform), massive reduction in delivery time (industry best average delivery time of just 37 minutes) and no-minimum order, makes Swiggy the highest engaged customer base in the hyperlocal space.

Our customer support interface helps in instant engagement with customers who provide valuable feedback on the food delivery process and benefit from the live support. The faith our consumers repose in us is our biggest driver to continue delivering a great experience.

BW: Lastly, what are the most popular dishes/takeaways generally ordered?

Srivats TS: The top dishes ordered in each city as per the Swiggy Food Consumption Study are

Chennai
Biryani, Butter Naan, Idli, Paneer Butter Masala and Chicken Fried Rice.

Bengaluru
Death by Chocolate, Chicken Biryani, Masala Dosa, Butter Naan, Idli and Paneer Butter Masala.

Hyderabad, the true Biryani capital
Biryani is ordered even during snack time, i.e. between lunch and dinner, when other cities like to stick to good old street food and burgers.

Mumbai
Chicken Biryani, Roti, Pav Bhaji, Dal Khichdi. For Desserts Mumbaikars prefer dishes like Caramel Custard, Donuts and Gulab Jamun

Kolkata
Chicken Biryani, Mutton Biryani, Dal makhani, and Shawarmas
Desserts - Firni,Chocolate Fantasy,Jalebi and Baked Rossogolla

New Delhi
Butter Naan,Roti, Dal Makhani,Laccha Paratha,Masala Dosa, Burgers, Chole Bature, Egg Rolls, Pav Bhaji
Desserts - Sweet Lassi,Gulab Jamun ,Cold Coffee and Kesar kulfi falooda

Pune
French Fries, Cold Coffee, Chicken Biryani and Dosas
Desserts - Cold Coffee,Lassi and Gulab Jamun.