The year 2025 brought soft consumer spending, stagnant user growth and fresh tax burdens for India’s food delivery giants. As a result, growth slowed, profitability remained stressed, and yet the sector kept experimenting. Amid this backdrop, what does 2026 look like for the sector?
The Urban Ladder: Order volumes are expected to grow only in the ‘high’ single digits in 2026, led almost entirely by metro users. Outside the top cities, tier III and IV markets are projected to remain sluggish, forcing platforms to prioritise defending urban share over chasing new geographies.
Efficiency Over Hype: Industry insiders see Zomato and Swiggy focus more on delivering efficiently and transparently, rather than quickly. Multi-order batching may become a flashpoint as users may not take well to the long ETAs. Simultaneously, companies may try to balance cost optimisation with sturdier packaging to improve perceived value.
The New Normal: Healthier eating will emerge as a big theme, but will remain additive rather than a replacement. Platforms will likely keep expanding “healthy” food options, while comfort staples like pizza and biryani will continue to anchor volumes.
No Need For Speed? The quick food delivery mania that generated buzz in 2025 is projected to retreat due to limited SKUs and dicey unit economics. To offset this, foodtech giants may push hybrid models (bundling hot-snack SKUs with grocery), which travel well, carry better margins and don’t depend on ultra-precise ETAs.
Rival Landscape: ONDC’s food ambitions are projected to lose commercial steam in 2026, constrained by fragmented networks, weak tracking and lower-commission incentives. The real disruptor could likely be Rapido’s Ownly, which will lean into lower delivery fees, narrower restaurant commissions and aggressive discounting to upend the food delivery segment.
Taken together, 2026 could turn out to be a year where growth is modest and consumers are more value-conscious. So, what will the food delivery battleground look like next year? Let’s find out…
Slow and fragmented manufacturing continues to be a major pain point for fashion brands. Long design-to-delivery cycles, multiple vendors, unpredictable timelines and high minimum order quantities prevent them from launching trendy styles at quicker speeds.
Speeding Up Manufacturing: Founded in 2022, Thimblerr offers a full-stack, tech-driven manufacturing platform that helps brands launch new styles up to 5X faster. The startup replaces the traditional 180-day cycle with a 30 to 60-day workflow using AI-assisted design, instant raw material selection, rapid product development and real-time production tracking.
Thimblerr claims to deliver production-ready samples in under seven days, enabling brands to test and iterate without committing to large batches upfront.
Cloud-Factory Model: Thimblerr’s USP lies in its cloud-factory network, AI-led system and a library of over 6,000 fabrics and trims. This offers fashion brands a single transparent, low-risk path from concept to delivery. By digitising sourcing, design collaboration and production monitoring, the platform removes the friction prevalent in the fast-fashion space that needs agility and efficiency over scale.
Eye On The Prize: Thimblerr is targeting the tech-driven global apparel manufacturing services market, which is expected to grow to $6 Bn by 2030. So, can Thimblerr’s AI approach power the next generation of fashion brands?
Weekly startup funding bounced back strongly last week. Homegrown new-age tech companies raised $347.7 Mn, while deal count improved to 27. Here’s how the numbers stack up.