India’s food services market to top $125 bn by 2030: Swiggy-Kearney report

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India’s food services market is poised to cross US$ 125 billion by 2030, with the organized segment set to grow at twice the pace of the unorganized sector, according to the 2025 edition of Swiggy’s annual report 'How India Eats', released in partnership with Kearney.

The report notes that the organized segment — led by cloud kitchens, quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and café chains — will drive over 60% of overall growth in the sector and is expected to overtake the unorganized market. Despite India’s vast food ecosystem, food services currently contribute 1.9% to the country’s GDP, significantly lower than China’s 5% and Brazil’s 6%, indicating substantial headroom for expansion.

While rising incomes, digital adoption and growing appetite for convenience will comprise the macro story behind this growth, it is the shape of this growth that is most interesting:

● The Indian consumer is experimenting more: 20% growth in unique cuisines ordered per customer, and 30% growth in restaurants ordered from per customer.

● Indulgence and health are seemingly dichotomous, yet simultaneous, trends.

○ Late night meals are growing ~3x that of dinner, with pizzas, cakes and soft drinks seeing the highest growth in consumption beyond 11PM.

○ Healthy and better-for-you meals are growing at 2.3x of overall orders, focused on increasing protein intake, watching calories and cutting down on added sugar.

The report also points to how India is seeing two exciting frontiers of growth in food services - rediscovering India’s rich culinary heritage..

● India is rediscovering its hyper-regional cuisines like Goan, Bihari and Pahari, which are growing at 2-8x of mainstream cuisines.

● Local Indian beverages like Buttermilk and Sharbat are growing at over 4-6x of overall beverages. pushing global QSRs to innovate for India - think Kala Khatta cold brew at a Starbucks, or a Chilli Guava drink at a McDonald’s.

● With tea growing at more than 3x of overall beverages, even the humble roadside stall break is being facilitated by digital channels

… while also embracing global culinary diversity like never before:

● Korean, Vietnamese and Mexican cuisines are becoming mainstream with growth indices of 17x, 6x and 3.7x. Even Peruvian and Ethiopian food have made their debut.

● Boba Tea and Matcha Tea have seen an 11x and 4x surge in search volumes, respectively, in the last five years.

● For the well-travelled and social media savvy urban Indian consumer, sushi, tacos and Korean BBQ are no longer niche and fast becoming weeknight staples.

Commenting on the findings, Rohit Kapoor, CEO at Swiggy Food Marketplace said, “In a span of just over a decade, the industry has seen disproportionate evolution. Expectations on speed are being shaped by quick commerce; for instance, our 10-minute food delivery service Bolt contributes over 10% of platform orders. On one hand, consumers are demanding affordability in familiar cuisines like Indian and Italian, and on the other hand, adopting Matcha and Boba Tea like never before. And our restaurant partners are keeping pace, with QSRs and cloud kitchens projected to grow at a CAGR of 17%+, nearly 1.5x of organized food services growth. I am really excited to see what the next decade has in store for all the stakeholders in this dynamic space.”

Rajat Tuli, Partner, F&B Lead, QSR Asia Lead at Kearney added, “What we are witnessing is a fundamental broadening of India’s food economy. Growth is no longer concentrated in a few metros; dining-out growth beyond top 8 cities is 2x that of top 8 cities, with corporate, industrial, education and tourist hubs leading the charge. GenZ offers high promise, growing 3x of other cohorts in the dining-out segment while demanding innovations like coffee raves and Instagram-worthy locations and menus. The next wave of leadership in food services will come from players who understand these new markets and consumers. Additionally, in food delivery, packaging innovation will substitute for format in dining-out.”