From peak dinner hours to festive cravings, Zomato’s year-end snapshot maps evolving food habits across cities, campuses and borders
Zomato has released its annual data-led recap titled “This is How India Ordered”, offering a snapshot of food ordering trends, consumer behaviour and regional preferences across India in 2025.
Shared through an Instagram carousel, the report highlights significant variations in order volumes, peak consumption times and festive demand patterns. Delhi-NCR emerged as the most active market, recording 4.22 crore orders during the year, narrowly ahead of Bengaluru. The data underscores the continued dominance of large urban clusters in driving food delivery growth.
Among non-traditional ordering locations, Vijayawada Junction topped the list of railway stations, logging 1.14 lakh orders in 2025, reflecting rising adoption of food delivery services at transit hubs.
Internationally, the United Arab Emirates ranked as the largest overseas market for Zomato, with 2.31 lakh orders placed by 1.3 lakh users, highlighting strong engagement among Indian consumers abroad.
The data also points to sharp demand peaks during evening hours. The highest single ordering spike was recorded at 8:25 pm, when 18.72 lakh orders were placed nationwide. Similar peaks were observed around the same time window, with 17.1 lakh orders at 8:24 pm and 18.69 lakh at 8:22 pm, reinforcing dinner-time dominance in consumption behaviour.
Educational institutions continued to be strong demand centres. IIT Kharagpur students placed approximately 2.4 lakh orders in 2025, followed by IIT Bombay with 1.8 lakh orders and IIT Delhi with 1.6 lakh, underscoring the scale of food delivery adoption among campus populations.
Festive occasions remained key demand drivers. During Raksha Bandhan, Zomato recorded an average of 171 sweets ordered every minute, while Christmas saw 98 cakes ordered per minute, reflecting strong seasonal consumption and celebratory indulgence.
Zomato said the annual snapshot aims to showcase how food ordering habits are evolving across geographies, occasions and consumer cohorts, as digital food delivery continues to embed itself into everyday life.
Founded in 2010, Zomato operates as a comprehensive food services platform, offering online ordering and food delivery services with a focus on expanding access to quality food experiences.
