Delivery Diaries: The timeless tradition of gifting food - love on a plate

A food gift was considered supreme as it involved the giver’s effort and labour in cultivating and harvesting it.

In human history, gifting food has always been considered one of the highest forms of regard and offering. In ancient societies, a food gift was considered supreme as it involved the giver’s effort and labour in cultivating and harvesting it. The toil and sentiment it entailed made it especially suitable for delicate situations—such as the poor Sudama gifting pohe to his friend, Lord Krishna. As civilisation progressed, food items became the preferred presents in international politics. We in South Asia are well aware of Mango Diplomacy, with Dr Manmohan Singh gifting mangoes to President George W. Bush, and more recently, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sending the choicest mangoes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At Swiggy, we have a food delivery category called Ordering For Others (OFO), which, on average, constitutes 10 per cent of all our food orders. This benevolent category usually involves sending food gifts to loved ones—parents, partners, children, cousins, siblings, friends, colleagues, and teachers. Needless to say, there are distinct spikes on days that commemorate these relationships. For example, our mothers must love Pineapple Cake, as this fruity delight witnesses an increase in orders of almost 3,000 per cent on Mother’s Day! In Taiwan, a land renowned for its pineapple produce, the word pineapple in the local language is akin to a blessing—“may you prosper and thrive”—exactly the kind of blessing our mothers bestow upon us, day in and day out.

Fathers are loved too, but clearly, their cake affection quotient is lower than that of mothers. While Mother’s Day witnesses an 82 per cent increase in daily revenue for us, the surge on Father’s Day is 58 per cent. It seems that when it comes to food delivery, mum is indeed the world.

No prizes for guessing that Plum Cakes are gifted in abundance on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day—where, in a week-on-week comparison, the OFO category witnesses a jump of 800 per cent. December, in general, is a strong month for OFO orders. If Christmas week witnesses a 43 per cent increase in OFO orders, then New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day see a hike of over 100 per cent in the OFO category.

While cakes, particularly the Choco Lava variety, are a preferred way to communicate the sentiments of forlorn lovers, these emotions intensify on Valentine’s Day, when our daily revenue sees an almost 80 per cent increase in OFO orders. It appears that love is best expressed in chocolate! Choco Lava Cake, already a popular item on any normal day across categories, experiences a surge of almost 160 per cent in the OFO category on Valentine’s Day.

Since Valentine’s Day has just gone by, there are some interesting data nuggets from our Quick Commerce business too. My colleagues at Instamart had a particularly gooey week, commencing on Rose Day (7th February) and culminating on Valentine’s Day (14th February), with Chocolate Day (9th February), Teddy Bear Day (10th February), and Kiss Day (13th February) in between. (Candid admission—I didn’t even know the latter three anniversaries existed until the Instamart data revealed them!) There was a 120 per cent jump in chocolate orders on Chocolate Day alone, while on 7th February, rose-related orders skyrocketed by a staggering 900 per cent.

In the food delivery business, OFO orders are usually geography-agnostic, with Tier 1 cities witnessing a slight 5 per cent advantage over Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Not much can be inferred from this. The distance and traffic torment in Tier 1 cities (though smaller cities are also increasingly prone to congestion) make food deliveries a much more convenient option. In smaller towns, people usually end up delivering gifts in person. We see some of this trend even during Diwali, where the customary in-person mithai visits to friends and relatives are gradually giving way to sweets being delivered via Swiggy. I had earlier written about mithai trends and how Kaju Katli remains the most gifted sweet on Diwali and Rakhi—its premium status likely adding to its gifting appeal.

Beyond anniversaries and annual commemorations, OFO orders provide several endearing anecdotes. We often see orders placed for elderly parents—these can include their favourite weekly treats or even their daily chai at a preferred hour. Similarly, we often witness parents sending cakes and mithai to children studying in distant cities.

So, while traditional wisdom advises against looking a gift horse in the mouth, there’s no such caution needed when it comes to food gifts. More often than not, they reveal the finest human qualities—love, benevolence, affection, care, and even heritage. In Korea, the tradition of Gimjang—families preparing and sharing kimchi—holds such cultural significance that UNESCO has recognised it as intangible cultural heritage!

When you think about it, this isn’t very different from the heartwarming tradition of our mothers and grandmothers preparing achars and condiments for us and sending them through various means. Whether or not UNESCO ever grants a similar status to our pickle habits doesn’t matter. What does matter, dear readers, is that you express your gratitude to your parents by ensuring they receive their favourite cake, mithai, or savoury treat via Swiggy on their special days. Believe me, it will bring a smile to their faces—and yours too.

To paraphrase William Shakespeare—If food be the music of love… order along!

Till next time,

Rohit