Swiggy's 10-minute delivery service 'Bolt' expands to 400+ cities

Swiggy's ultra-fast food delivery service, Bolt, has rapidly expanded to more than 400 cities and towns across India, just two months after its October 4 launch.

Designed to deliver food items requiring minimal preparation within 10 minutes, Bolt operates in partnership with over 40,000 restaurants and Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs), offering customers access to a menu of over 10 lakh items within a 2-kilometer delivery radius.

Initially introduced in major cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune, Bolt has now extended its reach to emerging hubs such as Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Indore, Coimbatore, and Kochi. It has also penetrated Tier 2 and 3 cities, including Roorkee, Guntur, Warangal, Patna, Jagtial, Solan, Nashik, and Shillong.

Swiggy has emphasized that delivery partners are not incentivized for speed, nor are they informed if an order is a Bolt delivery, ensuring safety remains a priority.

The platform optimizes delivery time by assigning orders to executives closest to Bolt-partner restaurants.

Bolt's success is fuelled by collaborations with prominent restaurant chains like KFC, McDonald's, Burger King, Starbucks, Chaayos, and Baskin Robbins, along with local favourites such as Gwalia Sweets in Ahmedabad, Shiraz and Kookie Jar in Kolkata, Karachi Bakery in Hyderabad, and MM Mithaiwala in Mumbai.

The expansion comes as rival Zomato faces challenges with its 10-minute delivery service. After piloting the initiative in 2022, Zomato rebranded the service as Zomato Instant in January 2023 but has struggled to replicate Swiggy’s scale.