Restaurant India News: Food Delivery Platforms Hit Record Orders Despite Gig Workers’ Strike

Food delivery and quick commerce platforms saw record-breaking orders on December 31, despite a nationwide strike by gig workers. More than 2 lakh delivery partners took part in the protest, demanding better pay and improved working conditions.

Eternal-owned Zomato and Blinkit, which lead the food delivery and quick commerce segments, together delivered over 75 lakh orders on New Year’s Eve. This marked their highest-ever single-day order count, according to Founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal.
Other platforms, including Swiggy, its quick commerce arm Instamart, Zepto and several others, also reported a sharp surge in orders on the same day.

Zomato and Blinkit delivered at a record pace on December 31 unaffected by calls for strikes that many of us heard over the past few days. Support from local law enforcement helped keep the small number of miscreants in check, enabling 4.5 lakh + delivery partners across both platforms to deliver more than 75 lakh orders (all time high) to over 63 lakh customers during the day. This happened without any additional incentives for delivery partners - NYE does see higher incentives than usual days and yesterday was no different than the past NYE days.” Deepinder Goyal wrote in a post on X.

He added, “I am grateful to local authorities across the country and to our teams on the ground for clear enforcement and swift coordination. Most importantly, thank you to our delivery partners who showed up despite intimidation, stood their ground, and chose honest work and progress. One thought for everyone: if a system were fundamentally unfair, it would not consistently attract and retain so many people who choose to work within it. Please don’t get swept up by narratives pushed by vested interests.”

“The gig economy is one of India’s largest organised job creation engines, and its real impact will compound over time, when delivery partners’ children, supported by stable incomes and education, enter the workforce and help transform our country at scale,” wrote Goyal.

In the second quarter of the current financial year, Zomato delivered an average of nearly 28 lakh orders per day, while Blinkit handled about 24 lakh daily orders, according to Jefferies. Labour unions said around 2.1 lakh gig workers participated in a nationwide strike on New Year’s Eve. However, several restaurant and cloud kitchen owners noted that the protest did not significantly affect business operations.

The strike was led by sections of delivery riders associated with the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers and the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union. Protests took place on December 25 and 31, which are among the busiest days of the year for food delivery and quick commerce platforms.