Zomato, Blinkit Hit All-Time High in Orders on New Year’s Eve, Says CEO Goyal

Food Delivery Apps See Record New Year’s Eve Orders Despite Gig Workers’ Strike

Zomato, Blinkit Hit All-Time High in Orders on New Year’s Eve, Says CEO Goyal: Food delivery platforms Swiggy, Zomato, and Magicpin reported a massive surge in orders on New Year’s Eve, saying their operations remained largely unaffected despite a strike call by a section of gig workers demanding better pay and working conditions.

The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) claimed that more than one lakh delivery workers across 22 cities participated in the strike, including around 14,000 workers from Delhi, Mumbai, and other major metros. However, the companies said the agitation had minimal impact on deliveries during one of the busiest nights of the year.

India has an estimated 12.7 million gig workers, a number expected to rise to 23.5 million by 2029–30, according to government think tank NITI Aayog. Despite the strike, Magicpin, the country’s third-largest food delivery platform, said it received millions of orders every hour in metro cities on New Year’s Eve.

Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal said in a post on X that Zomato and Blinkit delivered a record 7.5 million orders to more than 6.3 million customers in a single day, with the help of over 450,000 delivery partners. He added that local police helped contain “miscreants,” ensuring smooth operations.

Magicpin founder and CEO Anshu Sharma said the platform was “unaffected” by the strike and noted that New Year’s Eve once again highlighted how essential food delivery services have become to Indian celebrations.

Food trends showed Indians celebrating with popular dishes such as biryani, pizza, butter chicken, and traditional sweets. On Magicpin, pizza emerged as the most-ordered item, while orders for desserts like gajar ka halwa and ice cream tripled compared to last year. Dinner orders peaked around 9:30 pm, with butter chicken topping the charts in the Delhi-NCR region.

Swiggy reported that 2.19 lakh biryani orders were placed before 7:30 pm, while the long-standing pizza-versus-burger rivalry continued, with pizzas narrowly leading burgers in total orders by 8:30 pm.

Record-Breaking New Year’s Eve for Zomato, Blinkit Despite Gig Worker Strike Call

Swiggy also revealed that many people chose to dine out, with Bengaluru and Hyderabad recording the highest number of reservations via Swiggy Dineout. Ahmedabad saw the strongest growth in bookings, followed by Lucknow and Jaipur.

Addressing the strike, Goyal urged people not to be misled by what he called “propaganda,” stating that the gig economy remains one of India’s largest organized job creators and will play a key role in the country’s long-term growth.

Overall, New Year’s Eve 2025–26 reaffirmed the growing dependence on food delivery platforms, even amid labor unrest, as millions across India welcomed the New Year from the comfort of their homes.