Swiggy's ambitious quick delivery service Bolt has emerged as the company's fastest-growing initiative, expanding rapidly across India just one year after its launch. The 10-15 minute food delivery platform has now reached 700 cities, marking significant growth from 500 cities in May this year.
Rapid Expansion and Market Penetration
The service has gained substantial traction among both consumers and restaurant partners. Twenty percent of restaurants listed on Swiggy have now registered with Bolt, as Indian consumers increasingly embrace the convenience of 10-12 minute delivery for everyday items like coffee and samosas.
Rohit Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer of Swiggy Food Marketplace, revealed in an exclusive interview with Mint that Bolt currently contributes over 10% to Swiggy's overall orders. He expects this share to increase further as availability improves across more locations.
"When consumers realize they can get a coffee or a biryani in 10 minutes, they come back. And once restaurants see the demand, they start curating menus specifically for it. That's a unique advantage we have," Kapoor explained.
Profitability and Operational Efficiency
Unlike many new initiatives in the competitive food delivery space, Bolt has achieved profitability at the order level. Kapoor emphasized that each order on Bolt is profitable and the service doesn't consume significant cash from Swiggy's side.
"It does not consume any significant cash from our side. Each order on Bolt is profitable. It's good for frequency and good for uptake," the CEO stated. He highlighted that the service is 100% platform-driven, with all food preparation happening in external kitchens rather than Swiggy-owned facilities.
Swiggy's food delivery business reported impressive numbers in the September quarter, with 19% year-on-year growth in gross order value (GOV) reaching ₹8,542 crore. The platform's user base grew 22% to 17.2 million during the same period.
Competitive Landscape and Future Outlook
Bolt was launched in October 2024, anticipating the growing consumer demand for quicker deliveries that has surged due to the rapid adoption of quick-commerce platforms. The service has witnessed demand growth across metros as well as tier-2 and tier-3 towns.
The quick delivery space has become increasingly competitive with players like Zepto operating Zepto Café and Eternal (formerly Zomato) running Bistro under its Blinkit platform. However, Kapoor maintained an 18-20% growth guidance for Swiggy's overall food delivery business, though specific projections for Bolt were not shared.
More restaurants are adapting their operations for Bolt by tweaking their offerings. "Cities are well-covered, and we are focusing on higher use cases for our customers and greater availability of Bolt services. Whenever we show volumes to our restaurant partners and there is demand, they are able to curate menus for Bolt very fast," Kapoor noted.
The expansion comes as India's food services industry is projected to surpass $120-125 billion by 2030, representing approximately 60% growth from the estimated $78 billion in 2025, according to Kearney estimates.
