10-minute delivery backlash forces a rethink: execution over speed

Although existing users are expected to remain engaged, the absence of a clear speed promise could make it harder to attract first-time users, for whom such messaging has historically served as a strong hook, said Satish Meena, the founder of market research firm Datum Intelligence.

“In the near term, new customer additions could slow because food delivery as a category is anyway seeing slower growth in transacting users, and what we’re largely seeing now is a switch rather than true incremental customers. If delivery timelines extend to 15-20 minutes, the differentiation versus regular food delivery narrows further," said Meena.

The top food-delivery companies—Swiggy Ltd (Bolt, Snacc) and Eternal Ltd (Blinkit’s Bistro)—each offer specific services promising delivery of a limited, high-demand assortment of snacks and beverages from select nearby eateries within 10 minutes.

But they have removed the 10-minute delivery proposition from marketing material, including app descriptions, after a 13 January ANI report said the Union labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya has urged major hyperlocal platforms to move away from aggressive timelines, citing concerns around rider safety and working conditions.

The impact is also visible in advertising performance. Targeted branding such as “10-minute deliveries" typically has a strong pull and helps ad creatives perform better, according to Siddharth Jhawar, country manager at ad-tech firm Moloco. “There will certainly be a small, short-term impact by simply removing ‘10 minutes’ from the messaging. It could lower the click-through rate of the ad."

Click-through rate measures how many viewers engage with an advertisement, and a decline typically signals reduced consumer interest or a lower likelihood of first-time trials.

While the removal of the 10-minute promise is unlikely to materially dent demand, it raises the bar on consistency at a time when new customer additions remain critical to scaling the business.

Swiggy’s food-delivery business added nearly 900,000 average monthly transacting users in the September quarter, up from 16.3 million in the previous quarter. Eternal’s food delivery arm added 1.2 million users during the same period, compared to 22.9 million in the preceding three months.

Eternal declined to comment, while Swiggy did not respond to Mint’s emailed queries.

Execution in focus

Firms will now have to rely more on execution, ensuring consistently fast deliveries and better assortment curation rather than headline claims, to sustain growth and attract new users over time, said Sandeep Abhange, research analyst at LKP Securities.

“Trust and consistency will now matter more than a numeric delivery timer. A slight change in delivery promise does not meaningfully change perceived convenience, especially if delivery reliability and food quality remain intact," he noted.

Moreover, the market size should catch up in the long run, said Moloco’s Jhawar.

Swiggy began testing ultra-fast food delivery in October 2024 with the rollout of Bolt, followed by the launch of Snacc in January 2025, as it sought to address quick, impulse-led food orders that sit between restaurant delivery and quick commerce. The services focus on a narrow menu of snacks, beverages, and ready items from nearby partners, aimed at boosting order frequency and capturing short consumption occasions.

Rival Eternal took a similar step in January 2025 by adding Bistro to Blinkit, extending its dark-store network into ready-to-eat food. Both moves were driven by rising consumer demand for speed and increasing overlap between food delivery and quick commerce.

Bolt emerged as Swiggy’s fastest-scaling bet within just a year of launch, expanding to 700 cities as of November 2025. The service contributes over 10% to Swiggy’s overall food delivery orders, with the share expected to further rise as availability improves, Rohit Kapoor, chief executive of Swiggy Food Marketplace, told Mint in an interview in November 2025.

While Eternal did not disclose details about Bistro, it said in its December-quarter investor presentation that the feature has begun showing early signs of product-market fit. “We are seeing early signs of product-market fit, reflected in healthy throughput per outlet and early signs of a possible path to profitability," Eternal’s chief financial officer (CFO), Akshant Goyal, said in the letter to shareholders.

Regardless, firms are already working on improving execution. Platforms are increasingly using order data to identify cuisine gaps as well as items consumers want quickly but are unavailable nearby, and addressing supply constraints through cloud kitchens and additional fulfilment points, according to Meena.

Eternal's food-delivery business saw its net order value (NOV) grow 16.6% year-on-year in the December quarter, helped by a reduction in the minimum order value for free delivery on Gold orders, which led to higher ordering frequency from the more budget-conscious customers. While Swiggy is yet to release its third-quarter numbers, its food-delivery business's gross order value growth in the September quarter remained in the guided range of 18-20%.

“Online food delivery continues to deliver steady growth, and has been one of the more resilient consumption segments. We have been constantly innovating to ensure that we have an offering for all of consumers’ expectations, through segmented propositions that feel customised, as an answer to their specific need-states," Swiggy said in its September-quarter investor presentation.