Chaos, Cravings, And Comedy! What Sparked the Swiggy-Zomato Frenzy On New Year’s Eve

Saturday, January 4, 2025, 17:25

New Year's Eve is always a night to remember, and for many, it's an evening filled with food, festivities, and a lot of last-minute orders. This year, two of India's top food delivery apps, Swiggy and Zomato, found themselves at the heart of some seriously entertaining and slightly bizarre trends. Between Swiggy's behind-the-scenes chaos and Zomato's rather peculiar search data, the digital food world was buzzing with activity.

Photo Credit: PTI

Let's take a look at how both apps kept us full and jolly throughout the night.

Swiggy's Big Night : Pizza, Biryani, And Burgers Galore!

On the eve of the New Year, Swiggy's CEO, Rohit Kapoor, gave us all a sneak peek behind the scenes, detailing the company's Herculean efforts to handle the inevitable surge in orders. If you thought getting a pizza on time during a regular Friday night was tough, try doing it when the entire country is ready to ring in the New Year with a plate of something delicious.

Rohit took to X (formerly Twitter) to reassure customers that Swiggy was prepared for the madness, encouraging everyone to "order early, lekin tension mat lo" (which, roughly translated, means "don't stress, we've got your back for the afterparties and morning-after orders too").

Photo Credit: PTI

In his post, Kapoor asked the public to predict the night's most ordered food: pizza, burger, or biryani? He teased, "In classic Swiggy fashion, we will be live tweeting all that India is ordering. But sabse pehle (but first), what do you think will be the most ordered food item today? Answer agle saal (AKA tomorrow) hi pata chalega.(You will only know the answer next year)"

Spoiler alert: It was an absolute food fiesta. Swiggy's social media team kept everyone entertained by live-tweeting trends and stats as they rolled in. By the end of the night, over 224,590 people had ordered pizza, and 116,099 had opted for burgers. Meanwhile, Swiggy's posts took a cheeky dig at burger lovers: "Ye sab log burger hi kyu kha rahe hain, abhi tak 116099 burger orders ho gaye hai, tum logo ko kuch aur khane ka idea nahi aata kya??" (Why are all of you eating burgers? Haven't you got other food ideas?)

But the numbers weren't just limited to fast food. Swiggy also made some fascinating revelations about its Dineout service, with Bengaluru emerging as the top city for both Dineout bookings and biryani orders. And what biryani did they favour? Hyderabadi, of course! Meanwhile, a Delhi user managed to save ₹41,142 through Swiggy Dineout. Talk about eating and saving in style!

Zomato's Unexpected Search Trends : Girlfriend And Bride, Anyone?

Now, if you thought food trends were the only thing going wild on New Year's Eve, Zomato had a surprise in store. While everyone was scrambling for pizza, Zomato users were apparently busy looking for something a bit more... romantic?

Data from the app revealed a strange, yet hilarious trend: a whopping 4,940 people were searching for "girlfriend," and another 40 had their eyes set on finding a "bride." Now, if that's not an interesting way to ring in the New Year, what is? Naturally, this sparked a frenzy on social media, with people sharing bewildered reactions and jokes about the search behaviour.

Photo Credit: PTI

Mustafa Khundmiri, in a cheeky reply to a post by CNBC TV18's Shirin Bhan, provided a bit of context. It turns out that these searches weren't as random as they seemed. Khundmiri shared a screenshot showing two restaurants in Hyderabad-'Girlfriend Food Court' and 'Girlfriend Arabian Mandi Restaurant', which could explain why people were frantically searching for these terms. It wasn't about looking for a date after all; they were just after a good meal from a very uniquely named restaurant.

The Twitterati wasted no time in chiming in, with one user quipping, "This can only happen in India," and another cheekily suggesting Zomato should consider launching a "Quick Match Wedding" feature. Because, let's face it, if you can't find a biryani on Zomato, you might just find a bride, right?

Bengaluru Takes the Lead : Biryani And Beyond

While the internet had a good laugh at the Zomato searches, Swiggy's data didn't disappoint either. Bengaluru not only dominated the Dineout bookings but also took the top spot for biryani orders. And it wasn't just any biryani, it was the Hyderabadi variety that ruled the roost.

Swiggy CEO Rohit Kapoor had shared that Bengaluru was topping the charts for biryani orders and had been ordering Hyderabadi biryani, highlighting the region's discerning taste when it came to rice and spice.

It's safe to say that New Year's Eve 2025 went down in history not only for the food that made our stomachs happy but for the quirky, surprising trends that kept us entertained online.

Whether it was Swiggy's real-time pizza stats, Zomato's funny search results for "girlfriend" and "bride," or the big biryani showdown in Bengaluru, it's clear that food delivery apps have become an integral part of our celebrations.

The night wasn't just about eating and drinking; it was about celebrating all the unexpected ways we interact with the digital world.

So, here's to another year of delicious food, hilarious trends, and possibly, a few more "girlfriend" searches!