Highlights
- Swiggy sees affordability as a key lever to accelerate food delivery adoption.
- The company believes around 70% of users still order less than once a month.
- New offerings such as Toing aim to increase ordering frequency while maintaining lower structural costs.
- India Next markets remain an important focus with tailored products and operational investments.
- Swiggy plans to expand beyond traditional food delivery through category innovation and customer engagement.
For years, India's online food delivery industry has focused on improving convenience and delivery speed. At its Capital Markets Day, Swiggy Limited (NSE:SWIGGY) presented a broader vision for the next phase of industry expansion, arguing that affordability could become just as important as convenience in driving long-term customer growth.
The company outlined several initiatives designed to encourage more frequent ordering, particularly among value-conscious consumers and users outside major metropolitan areas. Rather than positioning these initiatives as temporary promotions, Swiggy said it aims to build structural cost efficiencies that can support lower prices over time.
Why affordability has become a strategic priority
According to Swiggy, India's food services market continues to offer substantial room for organised online platforms to expand. The company cited estimates suggesting baseline category growth of around 20% annually while highlighting that affordability could potentially add another 5–7 percentage points to category growth by encouraging more frequent transactions. It also noted that nearly 70% of users currently transact less than once each month, indicating significant untapped demand.
Instead of viewing affordability simply as discounting, Swiggy described it as a way to increase participation among occasional users who currently contribute only a small share of their overall spending through digital food ordering.
Toing becomes Swiggy's largest affordability initiative
Among the announcements, Swiggy highlighted Toing as its largest affordability-focused initiative over the past two years. Launched in September 2025, the platform now operates across 50 cities with an "Everyday Low Prices" proposition rather than periodic discount campaigns.
The company explained that Toing is designed around several operating principles, including lower mark-ups, zero packaging and handling charges, transparent pricing, simplified fee structures and lower delivery costs through shorter delivery distances and smart batching. Swiggy said these structural efficiencies are intended to keep prices sustainably low instead of relying on continuous promotional discounts.
Swiggy also said Toing has been built primarily for younger consumers, including Generation Z users, college students and people entering the workforce, who are typically more price sensitive.
Expanding beyond metro markets
Another major theme during the presentation was "India Next," referring to non-metro markets that the company considers increasingly important for future growth.
Swiggy reported that after two years of focused investments, Gross Order Value (GOV) in these markets increased by about 60%, Average Order Value (AOV) rose around 20%, Monthly Transacting Users increased by approximately 50%, while absolute contribution expanded roughly 2.7 times. The company also said more than 95% of these cities were Unit Economics (UE) positive.
To support this expansion, Swiggy highlighted initiatives such as broader restaurant partnerships, products tailored for non-metro consumers, operational improvements for longer delivery distances, expansion of Food on Train services and targeted engagement with college users.
Product innovation continues alongside affordability
Swiggy indicated that affordability represents only one part of its broader product strategy. The company continues to introduce specialised offerings designed for different customer preferences.
These include Bolt for quick meals, 99 Store for lower-priced food options, EatRight for health-focused meals and Gourmet for premium restaurant experiences. Swiggy has also expanded ordering through channels such as Food on Train and partnerships like JioHotstar.
The company suggested that expanding use cases rather than relying solely on traditional restaurant delivery could help increase customer engagement over time.
Learning from previous product launches
Swiggy also outlined how its affordability strategy has evolved over several years. Earlier initiatives such as Pocket Hero, Crazy Deals, Swiggy Sixes, Flash Sale, 99 Store, Deal Rush, Streaks and Snacc were presented as stepping stones that informed the development of Toing.
According to the company, these earlier launches contributed to higher Monthly Transacting User growth and provided operational learnings that are now being applied to larger affordability-focused offerings planned through FY27–FY31.
Looking ahead
At its Capital Markets Day, Swiggy positioned affordability as one of the central themes for the future evolution of India's online food delivery market. Through initiatives such as Toing, expansion into India Next markets and a broader portfolio of specialised food offerings, the company outlined how it intends to encourage higher ordering frequency while widening customer participation. The presentation suggests Swiggy views structural operating efficiencies, rather than temporary promotions, as an important element of its long-term food delivery strategy.
FAQs
Q: Why is Swiggy focusing on affordability?
A: Swiggy believes affordability remains one of the largest barriers to more frequent food delivery usage and could help expand the overall market.
Q: What is Toing?
A: Toing is Swiggy's affordability-focused food ordering platform that offers everyday low prices and currently operates in 50 cities.
Q: What are India Next markets?
A: India Next refers to Swiggy's focus on non-metro markets, where the company has introduced tailored products, operational improvements and expanded restaurant partnerships.
Q: What new food delivery products did Swiggy highlight?
A: Swiggy showcased Bolt, 99 Store, EatRight, Gourmet, Food on Train and other initiatives designed for different customer needs.