Food delivery giant Zomato has unveiled a detailed year-end report, offering a fascinating glimpse into India's eating habits and online ordering patterns for the year 2025. The comprehensive data, compiled until December 28, 2025, highlights which cities and campuses ordered the most, the busiest minutes for delivery, and festive trends.
Delhi-NCR Emerges as Undisputed Food Delivery Champion
The report solidifies the National Capital Region's dominance in the online food delivery space. Delhi-NCR recorded a staggering 4.22 crore more orders than Mumbai and an equal 4.22 crore more orders than Bengaluru. This robust appetite cemented its position as Zomato's largest market by total order volume.
A particularly telling data point was the identification of 8:25 PM as "India's national dinner time." At this precise minute, Delhi-NCR alone registered a massive 18.72 lakh orders. The minutes leading up to it were almost equally busy, with 8:24 PM seeing 18.71 lakh orders and 8:22 PM recording 18.69 lakh orders nationwide.
Campus Cravings and International Appetites
The data also shed light on ordering trends from educational institutions and international markets. IIT Kharagpur topped the list for university campuses with 2.4 lakh orders in 2025. It was followed by IIT BHU and IIT Bombay in the rankings.
On the global front, Zomato, led by Deepinder Goyal, showed strong performance outside India. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) led international markets with 2.30 lakh orders in 2025. The United States followed with 1.2 lakh orders, and the United Kingdom recorded 80,000 orders. Domestically, a surprising entry was Vijayawada Junction, which reported 1.4 lakh orders this year.
Festive Feasts and Incentive Hikes
The report captured India's festive spirit through food delivery. On Raksha Bandhan, 171 sweets were ordered every minute, while on Christmas, 98 cakes were ordered per minute.
To manage the high demand, especially during peak evening hours, Zomato offered peak hour incentives ranging from ₹120 to ₹150 per order between 6:00 PM and midnight. As the year ended, the company also raised incentives for its delivery partners for New Year's Eve peak hours, anticipating a surge in orders.
This move came amidst nationwide strikes by gig workers, including those from Zomato and Swiggy, who protested against low pay and working conditions. However, Zomato's parent company, Eternal, stated the incentive hike was a standard annual protocol for festive periods and was unrelated to the strike, attributing it to higher earning opportunities from increased demand.
The company aptly captioned its data revelation post: "When India gets going, so do we," summarizing a year of relentless food delivery activity across the country.
