Chart of the Month May 2025

In recent years, the Food services market in India has been growing, supported by multiple factors ranging from huge penetration of online deliveries, huge inflow of VC and funding in F&B sector and structural shifts within Indian families which are becoming more nuclear because of rapid migration to urban cities. It is an attractive market with not only startups but also major companies entering this sector.

To provide a deeper understanding of the sector to its esteemed clients, INTAGE India has conducted an in-depth study of the food services sector. In this blog, we would like to share some of the findings from the survey.

Increasing number of consumers are starting to try food from outside sources.

One of the notable recent trends is the growing use of food delivery services and the increasing popularity of dining in.

Purchase source of F&B in Food Services

                                                                                                                                                                                                     Base: 716 respondents

ü  Currently, Food-delivery at home is more penetrated vs. Dine-in – a huge change vs. pre-Covid levels. Although, the frequency of ordering is only 7 times a Month. 

ü  Convenience of Delivery has been the driving force - with the aggregators viz., Swiggy & Zomato garnering nearly 93% of the entire delivery market. 

ü  Frequency of Dine-in is the highest – with consumers eating out atleast 3-4 times in a week. 

ü  Both Take-away & Ready-to-Eat formats are still relatively under-penetrated – but surely poised to take-off as most urban Indian families are cooking less at home.

Next, we would like to show how these trends have changed over the years. INTAGE India conducted a similar survey in 2022, and the following table shows the comparison of usage across different formats.

Changes in usage of different format (2022 vs 2024)

                                                                                                                                                                       Base: 2022: 582 | 2024: 716 respondents

In 2022, the effects of COVID-19 were still evident in many aspects, and the food services industry was one of the most affected sectors during that time.

q  Covid gave a huge impetus to Delivery. However, even after Covid has subsided – there is neither a reduction in Penetration nor in Frequency for Food Delivery. It continues to hold on as consumers order food atleast twice a week.

q  While, Eating Out has shown an increase; going-back to pre-Covid levels. Both Penetration & frequency of visit has shown a marked increase.

q  With Covid going away completely in 2024 – consumers have started doing less Take-Away & Ready-to Eat. Also, decline in Take-away frequency is possibly because the take-away is getting converted to dine-in. 

Food delivery and dine-in are the two formats that have shown the fastest growth in recent years. Let’s take a closer look at cuisine preferences, examining them through the lens of dine-in versus delivery.

Cuisine preference: Dine-In vs Delivery

                                                                                                                                                                  Base: Dine-in : 485 | Delivery : 533 respondents

Pan-Asian, Continental, and Middle Eastern—these more evolved cuisines—are preferred more in the dine-in format, possibly indicating that consumers are seeking an experience. In contrast, the more popular cuisines show similar levels of preference across both formats.

Strong Correlation Between Food Experience and Overseas Travel

We had asked Consumer how many times they have travelled outside of India in a year and we found a strong correlation with the number of times they travelled vs. their preference  of Cuisines as well as awareness of Food Services Brands.

Variations in Preference of Different Cuisines by Experience of Travelling Outside India

                                                                                      Base: Never Travelled: 168 | Travels Once/ Year: 196 | Travel More than Once a Year: 355 respondents

q Consumers who have travelled abroad show a significantly higher interaction with multiple Cuisines. Never travelled abroad interacts with 4-5 cuisines vs. someone who has travelled more than once shows interaction with 7-8 cuisines.

q Moreover, customers who have travelled abroad more than once – shows more affinity to trying out global cuisines (Pan-Asian, European, Middle-eastern, etc.)

Additionally, we observed a similar trend between travel experience and the number of QSR (Quick Service Restaurant, e.g., McDonald’s or KFC) brands they are aware of.

Awareness of QSR brands by Experience of Travelling Outside India

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Base: Never Travelled: 168 | Travels Once/ Year: 196 | Travel More than Once a Year: 355 respondents

Just like food delivery and dining out, overseas travel is one of the trends that has a significant impact on consumers. The results of this study confirm a strong correlation between these two experiences.

Understanding the correct consumer profile, identifying the right target audience, and developing effective marketing strategies tailored to them are crucial perspectives in the food service industry.

INTAGE India will continue to provide valuable insights to help you better understand your consumers, so please stay tuned!

Below is a detailed scope of research & methodology which has been outlined, based on which the report was prepared.

To know more, would request you to contact us as there are various Clients with whom we work in the Food Services sector.