The Indian Premier League (IPL) has cricket-crazy Indians simply unwilling to move away from TV screens—not even for food. And guess who’s celebrating? Foodpanda.
Since the beginning of the IPL season on April 07, the food-delivery company has seen a 15% increase in orders on its app compared to non-IPL days. ”Due to the incomparable fan following for the sport, no other sporting event (order volume) comes close to the cricket season as of now according to our data,” Foodpanda told Quartz in a statement.
From the over 100 cities that Foodpanda serves, Gurugram saw the highest increase in orders.
Orders for dinner—many IPL matches start at 8pm—have increased by 25%. The highest uptick (30%) has been in the shakes and ice creams category, given that it is peak summer and also thanks to Foodpanda’s campaign LSD or Love for Shakes and Desserts.
Continental and American cuisines, including burgers and other such fast food, “have increased significantly in the range of 20%-30% since the cricket season has begun,” said Foodpanda, which is now owned by ride-hailing company Ola.
The demand is also being fuelled by some offers Foodpanda has been running. For instance, there are “PowerPlay” deals where restaurants such as Burger King, Faasos, and others offer discounts of 25% and above for specific periods throughout the week. While rival Swiggy has also been running IPL season offers, the company was unable to immediately share traffic details. Zomato, another player in India’s $1.5 billion food delivery sector, could not be reached.
The IPL season ends this coming weekend.