INDIA – Healthy food orders have been on the rise in India as  Indians, who spent most of their time during the lock binging on junk food, move towards healthier food options in 2021, a new survey by Swiggy’s Health Hub has revealed.

Data from the survey show that based on lakhs of orders, healthy food orders saw a jump of 20 per cent in January as compared to December, clearly indicating a resolve to start the year on a healthy note.

While most binged-on biryani and pizzas on New Year’s Eve, the food delivery app witnessed a rise in healthy meals and even healthy desserts being ordered on the first day of the year.

Dishes such as millet khichdi, multi-grain masala dosa, Mexican burrito bowl, caesar salad, corn sandwich, along with Belgian bites and sugarfree ice cream made for the maximum orders, the food delivery app said in a statement.

Bengaluru: India’s healthiest city

India’s IT hub Bengaluru was crowned as the city with the maximum orders for healthy food in the country.

A look at city-wise preferences for healthy meals shows that Hyderabad ordered the most barbeque grilled salads, protein guacamole bowls and healthy breakfasts.

Mumbaikars opted for burrito bowls, caesar salads, homestyle north Indian khichdis and combos.

And healthy eaters in NCR (National Capital Region) ordered healthy breakfast items such as poha and upma — protein salads and bowls for other meals.

The survey also reported that the average calorie count per meal was higher for lunch orders at 360 calories with people ordering meals with 335 calories for dinner orders.

A healthy food discovery feature

Swiggy Health Hub, is a healthy food discovery feature on the Swiggy app that offers over 90,000 healthy dishes.

Curated and verified by nutritionists, Health Hub is currently live in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru with plans to expand to other major cities through the year.

Additional funding for Swiggy

Meanwhile, Swiggy is said to be in advanced talks to close a US$700 Mn-US$800 Mn funding round led by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

Besides QIA, Swiggy’s upcoming funding round will see participation from Singapore’s GIC as well as alternative asset manager Falcon Edge.

According to an ET report citing sources, Swiggy’s post-money valuation could increase up to US$5 Bn in this round.

The company had closed its previous funding round at around US$3.6 Bn valuations after it raised US$158 Mn led by Naspers last February.

The round will reportedly help Swiggy “build a war of chest of a little under US$1 Bn” even as its competitor Zomato’s attempts to go public in the first half of 2021 and hit a cash reserve of US$1 Bn before going into the public market.

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