Bengaluru startup delivering food in 10 minutes divides the internet: ‘Who asked for this?’
A new Bengaluru startup promising to deliver food in 10 minutes has left the internet divided.
A Bengaluru-based startup that promises to deliver food in just 10 minutes has divided opinion on social media. Swish is a rapid food delivery platform that is currently active in HSR Layout. It promises to beat Bengaluru’s notorious traffic and deliver fresh, hot food to customers in 10 minutes.
Ujjwal Sukheja, co-founder of Swish, said that the idea of a 10-minute food delivery app came to him when he realised that many youngsters today face long waiting times after ordering food. “In HSR, you can get anything quickly—a dosa from a darshini in minutes.. But when it comes to online food delivery, the wait can be painfully long,” he wrote in a post on X announcing the launch of Swish on August 4. “We realized that this problem is common to many young people like us. So, for them (and us), we are building Swish,” Sukheja added.
While quick commerce platforms that deliver groceries and household essentials in 10 minutes flat have seen an unprecedented rise in popularity over the last few months, the idea of a rapid food delivery platform was still distasteful to many.
Convenience or exploitation?
While some were critical of the whole concept – asking why anyone would need food delivered in 10 minutes – others also wondered whether food dished out so quickly would actually be fresh. Some also pointed to the logistical challenges of delivering food in 10 minutes by saying that delivery agents would feel the need to drive rashly.
“Very cool to see how quickly this has gone from idea to execution - sadly have already had my dinner tonight / not in HSR - otherwise would have given it a shot,” wrote Rahul Mathur.
“I would never order from such a facility knowing nothing healthy can be cooked in 2-3 minutes,” countered X user Aditya Pasumarthi
Some X users said food in 10 minutes is something that no one has asked for. Others called it exploitation of labour.
“Are there any other countries (with strong labor laws) where people do this 10 min thing? When was the last time you wished you could have food delivered in 10 mins?” asked one person.
“If you need food delivered in 10 minutes just cooking it yourself this is literally just labour exploitation,” another wrote.
“From what I understand, this means a lot of pre-made/stored food/frozen food and exploitation of delivery drivers. No, thank you. If I am SO hungry that I need food in 10 minutes, I'll either cook or just go to a nearby convenience store/street-food stall/takeout,” a third added.
“You are inventing problems for your business ideas at this point! We need ambulances in ten mins not this,” said an X user.
Several people also tried out the delivery app and said they were impressed by the speed. Meanwhile, the official X handle of Swish has been apologising to people who received their orders in 15 minutes instead of 10.
The food delivery space in India is currently dominated by two major players - Swiggy and Zomato. Both companies are also in the quick commerce business - Swiggy with Swiggy Instamart, and Zomato with Blinkit.