Food Delivery Platforms Log Record New Year’s Eve Orders Despite Limited Gig Worker Strike

Food delivery platforms Swiggy, Zomato and magicpin reported a sharp surge in orders on New Year’s Eve, saying operations remained largely unaffected despite a strike call by sections of gig workers demanding better pay and working conditions.

The Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) claimed that more than one lakh workers across 22 cities participated in the strike, including around 14,000 members from major urban centres such as Delhi and Mumbai. However, the companies maintained that the protest had a negligible impact on deliveries during one of the busiest days of the year.

Zomato and Blinkit founder Deepinder Goyal said the platforms delivered at a record pace on New Year’s Eve, with over 4.5 lakh delivery partners fulfilling more than 75 lakh orders across both platforms — an all-time high — serving over 63 lakh customers in a single day. In a post on X, he added that support from local law enforcement helped ensure smooth operations.

Magicpin founder and CEO Anshoo Sharma echoed similar views, stating that the company witnessed “no impact” from the strike and saw lakhs of orders flowing in every hour across metro cities.

The strong demand once again highlighted the scale of India’s gig economy, which currently employs an estimated 12.7 million workers. According to NITI Aayog, this number is expected to rise to 23.5 million by 2029–30.

Food preferences on the night reflected a mix of comfort and celebration. Platforms reported high demand for biryani, pizzas, butter chicken and traditional desserts such as gajar ka halwa. Magicpin said pizza was the early favourite among users, while dessert orders, including ice cream and gajar ka halwa, rose nearly three-fold compared to last year. Dinner orders peaked around 9:30 pm, with butter chicken emerging as the most-ordered main course in the Delhi-NCR region.

Swiggy data showed biryani leading the charts, with over 2.19 lakh orders placed before 7:30 pm. The long-standing rivalry between pizzas and burgers remained close, with both crossing the 2.1 lakh mark by 8:30 pm.

Dining out also saw strong traction on New Year’s Eve. Swiggy Dineout bookings were led by Bengaluru and Hyderabad, while Ahmedabad recorded the highest growth at 1.6 times year-on-year, followed by Lucknow and Jaipur.

Industry leaders said the festive rush underlined how food delivery and dining platforms have become integral to celebrations, even amid ongoing debates around gig worker welfare and platform practices.