A Bengaluru-based startup, Swish, has launched a rapid food delivery service promising to deliver meals in just 10 minutes, sparking a heated debate on social media. The service, currently available in HSR Layout, aims to tackle the city’s notorious traffic and long wait times for food delivery.
Ujjwal Sukheja, co-founder of Swish, explained the inspiration behind the 10-minute delivery app. He noticed that while it’s easy to get a dosa from a local darshini quickly, online food delivery often involves long waiting times. “In HSR, you can get anything quickly—a dosa from a darshini in minutes.. But when it comes to online food delivery, the wait can be painfully long,” Sukheja wrote in a post on X, announcing Swish’s launch on August 4. “We realized that this problem is common to many young people like us. So, for them (and us), we are building Swish,” he added.
Much awaited life update 📢
After months of building in Stealth, Excited to announce that we are building Swish: 10-min food delivery app (@justswishin)
Many of you might be asking how did a bunch of crypto enthusiasts end up launching a food delivery app?
thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/iQhdT0pW2v
— Ujjwal Sukheja (@ujjwal_sukheja) August 4, 2024
The concept of rapid food delivery has divided opinions online. While quick commerce platforms delivering groceries and household essentials in 10 minutes have gained popularity, the idea of delivering freshly cooked food in such a short time has raised concerns.
Convenience or Exploitation?
Critics question the necessity of 10-minute food delivery and doubt the freshness of food prepared so quickly. Concerns about the safety of delivery agents potentially driving rashly to meet the tight deadlines have also been raised.
“Very cool to see how quickly this has gone from idea to execution – sadly have already had my dinner tonight / not in HSR – otherwise would have given it a shot,” wrote Rahul Mathur on X. Conversely, X user Aditya Pasumarthi commented, “I would never order from such a facility knowing nothing healthy can be cooked in 2-3 minutes.”
With all due respect, the last thing this country needs is yet another oppressive food delivery service. What it does need is… oh well, that is a long unsexy list indeed which won’t attract exploitative VC funds. https://t.co/mpDPl8OilM
— Ritesh Uttamchandani (@photowallah) August 5, 2024
Others labeled the concept as labor exploitation. “Are there any other countries (with strong labor laws) where people do this 10 min thing? When was the last time you wished you could have food delivered in 10 mins?” questioned one user. Another user added, “If you need food delivered in 10 minutes just cook it yourself, this is literally just labor exploitation.”
Additional comments highlighted the likely reliance on pre-made, stored, or frozen food and the pressure on delivery drivers. “From what I understand, this means a lot of pre-made/stored food/frozen food and exploitation of delivery drivers. No, thank you. If I am SO hungry that I need food in 10 minutes, I’ll either cook or just go to a nearby convenience store/street-food stall/takeout,” said a third user.
Some users questioned the priority of such innovations, stating, “You are inventing problems for your business ideas at this point! We need ambulances in ten mins not this.”
Despite the criticism, some users tried the service and were impressed by the speed. Meanwhile, Swish’s official X handle has been apologizing to customers who received their orders in 15 minutes instead of the promised 10.
Tried this out of curiosity!
Delivered on time!!
Me & my friends really liked the samosa & packaging 😅Kudos to @ujjwal_sukheja & team Swish! https://t.co/QayLjYD9V4 pic.twitter.com/NOT0DFplRJ
— Anurag Agrawal (@anurag0__0) August 5, 2024
The food delivery market in India is currently dominated by Swiggy and Zomato, both of which have ventured into quick commerce with Swiggy Instamart and Zomato Blinkit, respectively. Swish’s entry into the market with its unique 10-minute delivery promise is sure to keep the competition interesting.
